Standing on the Edge of TomorrowII: The Rising Sun
by Vilandra4
Summary: COMPLETE Sequel to Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow. When one of the Powers that Be is killed by another, Kara and the Scoobies must protect the final Power to save the world. BF, SpikeDawn, WillowTara, etc.
1. Default Chapter

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Alright, this is the sequel to Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow. If you haven't read that one, I suggest you do, otherwise, you may be a bit lost. I am incorporating part of the Angel crew in this one; however, I want Cordelia to be in it. Therefore, I'm disregarding all of the events that happened in Angel. If my timeline is correct, Cordy would be dead about now, which would go against my intentions. So, I hope you enjoy this one. Please review so I know if you like where I'm going with it. Thanks.

Prologue:

Lucian gazed into the reflecting pool, his eyes so focused the images blurred into a constant rippling motion that radiated tranquility. He sat on a large, smooth rock in the cave of life, his hands resting palm-up on his knees. Before him, the lives of every person inhabiting every world in existence played forth. He watched as people lived and died; he celebrated with them in their victories and cried with them in their defeats. Lucian was the third member of the Powers that Be.

The others, Veronica and Cassius, rarely ventured into the cave of life. Though they had the power to interfere in the lives of men, they chose to respect the doctrine of free will. However, when events dictated that such interference would be necessary to maintain the balance of good and evil, the Powers would insert their dominance. They had done so in their decision to send Kara Summers and Callum Borland back through time to prevent the destruction of Sunnydale, which ultimately saved the world.

Lucian had watched the events unfold in the pool. His heart had broken when Callum was killed in an explosion engineered by the First. But he rejoiced when Kara found love with Kennedy, the potential turned slayer. Never for a moment had he doubted that light would prevail over dark. For centuries, good and evil had clashed, but good always won. He prayed he would never see the day when evil triumphed.

He sighed and blinked. A strange thought crept into his mind. A cool wind blew through the cave and looking down at the waters of the pool, he saw them change before his eyes. He could see into the drawing room, a transitory reality in which the Powers that Be existed. Veronica was sitting by the door, deep in meditation. Lucian watched as Cassius slowly approached her. He stopped in front of her and withdrew an ornamental blade from inside of his robes. Then, thrusting his arm forward, he pierced her heart.

"Oh, no," Lucian whispered, leaping to his feet. The water rippled and the image distorted. He could hear Veronica calling out to him in his mind, warning him to stay away. He smiled grimly, remembering how he had never listened, even when he was a little boy. Rushing out of the cave, he raced through the tunnels that led to the portal to the other realm. When he reached the door, he was out of breath, but he pushed forward.

Stepping through the portal, he found himself standing in the drawing room, a warm fire roaring in the fireplace beside him. He could see Veronica lying in front of him, her blood reaching out across the wooden floor. Cassius was nowhere to be found. "Veronica?" He asked, stepping forward slowly. He knelt down beside her and took her hand in his. "Can you hear me?"

Veronica's eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly. "Lucian," she whispered, her voice fading. "You can't stay here, he'll kill you too."

"No, he won't," Lucian assured her.

"You don't understand, Lucian. I've seen it in the waters. You have to leave this place," Veronica said adamantly, coughing up blood. She reached out and touched his forehead. "There's only one way," she said.

The skin underneath her fingertips suddenly grew warm and Lucian found himself getting light headed. He let go of her hand and nearly fell over. "What's happening?" He asked, his voice rough and scratchy.

"I'll send someone for you," Veronica said. Suddenly, the world went dark before his eyes and Lucian fell to the floor, fading from sight in an instant. Veronica struggled to gather enough power to send forth her message. Closing her eyes, she controlled her breathing to a steady rise and fall. Then she sent the vision and her breathing stopped.

...................................

Cordelia sat at her desk at the Hyperion Hotel, bored out of her mind. Angel and Gunn were off hunting some nasty sort of demon that was killing tourists down by the harbor. Fred and Wesley were out having dinner at some swanky restaurant Cordelia only wished she could afford to dine at. That left her, completely alone, with nothing to do, in a massive and empty hotel. Sighing, she picked up a magazine and began flipping through it.

A sharp pain suddenly filled her mind and she cried out. Grabbing her head with her hands, she fell out of her chair and slumped to the floor. The images wracked her brain and she could barely breathe. Then, as instantly as they came, the images stopped and left her mind blank and calm. Breathing heavily, Cordelia pulled herself into a sitting position. Blinking her eyes, she calmed her breathing. She had never seen anything like the images in her vision before. One of the Powers that Be had died, murdered by another. But that wasn't the most amazing part of it.

The third Power had been sent through space and time, from the realm of the immortals, the gods, down to the realm of men, in living flesh. More importantly, he was currently lying unconscious on the side of the road just outside of Los Angeles completely vulnerable and alone, without any powers. Cordelia quickly stood and grabbed the phone. She tried calling every member of the crew, but no one was answering.

"Damn," she said, slamming the phone down. "Okay, think this through. I can pick him up. Angel left his car," Cordelia said aloud, rushing into Angel's office. She grabbed his car keys off his desk and grabbed her jacket. Slinging it on, she practically ran out of the hotel. Jumping into Angel's car, she stuck the key into the ignition and listened as it roared into life.

"He's so gonna kill me for this," Cordelia said as she threw it into drive and peeled off down the street.


	2. Visions and Memories

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Passionate Darkness – In answer to your question, yes, but probably not in the way you expect, and it will happen a bit later in the story.

Previously:

The third Power had been sent through space and time, from the realm of the immortals, the gods, down to the realm of men, in living flesh. More importantly, he was currently lying unconscious on the side of the road just outside of Los Angeles completely vulnerable and alone, without any powers. "Okay, think this through. I can pick him up. Angel left his car," Cordelia said aloud, rushing into Angel's office. "He's so gonna kill me for this," Cordelia said as she threw the car into drive and peeled off down the street.

Chapter One:

It had been six months since the final battle with the First. In that time, much had changed in Sunnydale. First was the unprecedented marriage of two slayers, Buffy and Faith. With the Council now running out of Sunnydale, the rest of the slayers were quickly dispersed around the globe to combat evil on all fronts. "We now have slayers in Rome, Moscow, Mexico City, London, Munich, Sevilla, and Hong Kong. In addition, we have slayers in New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Las Vegas. We're looking to ship slayers out to seven different countries within the week. The Council is to be commended for establishing such a presence this quickly," Giles reported.

"Thank you, Rupert," Jack said, smiling warmly at him. "Have we addressed all issues relating to international communications?" He asked

Kara officially zoned out. There were only so many Council meetings that she could tolerate. Though she found some of the topics interesting, the majority of the meetings were spent discussing administrative issues, rather than anything of substantial relevance to the life of a slayer. Kara sighed and leaned back in her chair, surveying the room. Much had changed in the passed six months. With his newfound Council responsibilities, Giles found himself spending long periods away from the Magic Box. Accordingly, he decided to turn management completely over to Anya, though he retained partial ownership. The ex-vengeance demon couldn't have been happier and eagerly took to work.

She and Xander had just bought a house not far from the Summers residence. Shortly after Buffy and Faith were married, they moved into Kara and Kennedy's house, feeling the need to have some sort of independence. With Spike living out of the basement of her old house, Buffy didn't feel quite as bad about leaving her mother. After all, she still had Dawn. Though Spike wasn't as much protection as a slayer, Buffy trusted his abilities enough to assign him the task of looking after her mother in her absence, which elated the blonde vampire.

Willow and Tara had moved into an apartment near downtown Sunnydale, both advancing rapidly through the Council's ranks. Willow was quickly assigned the task of updating the Council's technology, which she did with gusto. Though the old Council had been opposed to modern methods of doing things, the new Council found them much more efficient. With every slayer and watcher outfitted with laptops and cell phones, communication between continents was practically instantaneous, though there were some kinks that needed to be worked out.

"Are you even remotely paying attention?" Kennedy asked, poking Kara in the side with her elbow.

"Absolutely not," Kara replied, smiling over at her. Kennedy rolled her eyes.

"What are you thinking about then?" Kennedy asked, feigning exasperation. Kara smiled mischievously and slowly licked her lips.

"Much more exciting things than international communication," Kara replied, her voice taking on a sensual tone that made Kennedy's knees turn to jelly.

"Really? Care to elaborate?" Kennedy asked, her voice slightly ragged. She found herself getting lost in Kara's captivating gaze. Kara thought for a moment before smiling widely.

"I would, but you seem to be paying such rapt attention to Jack, I wouldn't want to distract you," she said, before chuckling to herself and looking away. Kennedy glared at her.

"See if you get any tonight," she whispered under her breath. Kara nearly burst out laughing.

"I wouldn't be the only one suffering," she replied, her voice equally as hushed. However, neither spoke quite low enough to escape slayer hearing.

"Didn't you ever learn not to talk about having sex around your parents?" Buffy asked, as Faith desperately tried to control her laughter.

Kara looked over at Buffy and rolled her eyes. "You know, now that you mention it, I don't think we ever discussed that. Must have been the end of the world and all. See the things I missed out on," she said, her tone bordering on sarcastic as she shook her head.

"Pay attention, kid. You might learn something," Faith said, attempting to bring everyone's focus back on the meeting at hand.

"Kid? You do realize I'm older than you, right?" Kara asked.

"You do realize I can still kick your ass, right?" Faith retorted, smirking slightly.

"Yeah, yeah," Kara replied, shifting her attention back to Jack, who was addressing financial concerns. "I gotta get some air," Kara said, discreetly getting out of her chair and walking out of the front door. Though the Council had their own facilities, they always held their meetings at Joyce's house, mostly out of tradition. The Scooby meetings had always been held there.

Kara leaned against the porch railing and looked up at the sky. It was nearing ten o'clock at night and the stars were shining brightly. Looking over at the moon, Kara gazed at it intently. The edges had a red hue to them, almost the color of blood. Closing her eyes, Kara listened to the world around her. Everything seemed in chaos. The wind whispered of betrayals and the ground shifted uneasily. The leaves rustled anxiously and in their voices, carried out through the night air, Kara could hear murder. Her eyes flew open and she stood up straight. Something had happened, something to cause nature to fly into a fit of panic. Kara wracked her brain, trying to figure out what it was, thinking of everything she knew of the future. Though most of that knowledge was useless, now that the First was defeated, some basic details held true.

"Blood on the moon, that's never a good sign," Tara said, walking up behind her.

"Couldn't take it either?" Kara asked, referring to the meeting. Tara smiled and nodded.

"Finances aren't my thing," she replied. "What do you think happened?" Tara asked, her gazing straying up to the moon. Kara followed her eyes and shrugged.

"I don't know. But I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."

..................................

"Don't crash the car," Cordelia whispered to herself. "Whatever you do, don't crash the car." She was pushing eighty, and though the car handled beautifully, she could easily see herself losing control and destroying Angel's most prized possession, or at least one of them.

Cordelia was finding it nearly impossible to locate the fallen Power. Though she could clearly see him in her mind, every stretch of road looked exactly the same. "I'm never gonna find him," she muttered to herself. "The world's gonna end because of my incompetence," she said, then thought for a moment. "Though I doubt that would really surprise anyone back home."

Just when she had given up hope and was contemplating turning around, she saw someone walking along the side of the road just ahead of her. Squinting her eyes, she noticed that he was stark naked, and it wasn't a particularly bad view. "Bad, bad, naughty thoughts," she said, chastising herself. Pulling the car over to the side of the road, she jumped out and quickly located a blanket in the backseat. She imagined Angel used it when he underestimated exactly when the sun would rise, which he often did, despite all of his two hundred some years to figure it out.

"Hey!" Cordelia called out, cautiously approaching the man. His back was to her and he stopped walking as soon as he heard her voice. "You're Lucian, right? I got a vision about you," she said, drawing closer. He turned slowly and looked back at her, his face masked in shadow.

"I don't know," he said slowly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Cordelia asked, handing him the blanket as she stopped a few feet in front of him. He graciously accepted it and wrapped it around his body. He stepped closer and the moon revealed his face. Cordelia glanced him over, noticing that he looked much younger than she expected one of the Powers that Be to look. He seemed to be in his mid twenties. His eyes were a deep shade of blue that resembled the color of the waters in Hawaii. Though his face was smooth and youthful, his eyes held a certain quality of wisdom to them that only came with age. His blonde hair was shaved close to his head and stubble adorned his cheeks and chin.

"You said my name was Lucian? I don't remember...I can't. I can't remember who I am," he said quietly. "I just woke up on the side of the road."

"Well, shit," Cordelia muttered to herself. "This just makes everything so much better."

"Where am I?" Lucian asked, looking around.

"Just outside of Los Angeles. It's the year 2004 and you really have to trust me when I tell you that it's not safe for you here. I can explain everything, but you have to get in that car with me," Cordelia said adamantly.

Lucian studied her face for a moment before nodding. "Okay, but first," he said as he and Cordelia began walking back to her car. "What's your name?"

Cordelia smiled and extended her hand. "Cordelia Chase," she said, shaking his hand as he took hers.

"Good to meet you," Lucian responded. "Do you know my last name?"

"I don't think you have one, Luc," Cordelia said, jumping into the driver's seat. "You're a little different from everyone else."

"Where are we going?" Lucian asked as Cordelia started the car. "Back to Los Angeles?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Cordelia replied, pulling back out onto the road. "We're going to Sunnydale."

"What's in Sunnydale?" Lucian asked, settling back in his seat. He found himself becoming more and more comfortable around Cordelia. Though they had just met, he felt like he had known her for a long time.

Cordelia smiled grimly before answering. "Hell."


	3. Running on Empty

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

"No, I'm afraid not," Cordelia replied, pulling back out onto the road. "We're going to Sunnydale."

"What's in Sunnydale?" Lucian asked, settling back in his seat. He found himself becoming more and more comfortable around Cordelia. Though they had just met, he felt like he had known her for a long time.

Cordelia smiled grimly before answering. "Hell."

Chapter Two:

"Want any help?" Faith asked, from her seat on a tombstone watching Buffy take on two vampires. "Cuz it looks like you're struggling a bit there."

"I'm not struggling," Buffy ground out, kicking one of the vampires in the groin as the other grabbed her from behind. Flipping him over her back, she shoved a stake through his heart. "See? I'm kickin' ass," she said triumphantly.

"Whatever you say," Faith said, smirking as the remaining vampire swept Buffy's feet out from under her. Buffy landed with an audible groan and Faith decided enough was enough. "Okay, big guy. How about takin' on someone your own size?" Faith said, sauntering up to the snarling vampire.

Ducking as it punched wildly, Faith jabbed her knee into the vampire's midsection. "See, I'm not so keen on you beatin' on my girl," Faith said, punching the vampire in the face. It stumbled backwards and flipped over a tombstone, landing in a heap. "So, I'm thinkin' I'll have to teach you a lesson, you know, as an example for all the others," Faith said, grinning wildly as she drove her stake through the vampire's heart.

"Help me up?" Buffy said, leaning up on her elbows and watching as Faith dispatched the last vampire.

"Sure," Faith said, tucking her stake into the waistband of her low-slung leather pants. Walking over to Buffy, she reached her hand out, but Buffy had other plans. Pulling Faith down, Buffy smiled as her wife clumsily fell on top of her.

"This is better," Buffy murmured, running her hand through Faith's long, dark hair as she leaned in and captured her lips with her own. Faith moaned deeply into Buffy's mouth, feeling every cell in her body heating up. Her hands started roaming of their own accord and Buffy thrust her tongue into Faith's mouth, exploring every inch.

Faith broke away, panting for air, and rested her forehead against Buffy's. "You know," she said, her voice raspy from desire, "I think the world's safe from evil for now. Wanna go home?"

"Yeah," Buffy said eagerly. "Let's get outta here."

Grabbing Buffy's hand, Faith pulled Buffy to her feet. "Kara supposed to be home tonight?" Faith asked as they began walking out of the cemetery.

"Lucky for us...no," Buffy said, slipping her hand into Faith's. "She and Kennedy are at the Bronze." Both Faith and Buffy always felt a bit odd about fooling around when Kara was home. But they would much rather be living with Kara and Kennedy than with Buffy's mom.

"Excellent," Faith said, lacing her fingers around Buffy's hand. "You know, I gotta say, I'm diggin' the married life," Faith said, nudging Buffy's arm with her shoulder and smiling down at her.

"Yeah, me too," Buffy said, smiling warmly up at Faith and planting a quick kiss on her lips. "And you know," Buffy said with a mischievous smile, "I think we have some whipped cream in the fridge."

..........................................

Cordelia sighed and ran a hand through her wind tossed hair. "Okay, so I probably should have checked the gas gauge before I took the car," she said as she and Lucian started walking down the road. "But then, I was slightly in a panic."

"It's okay," Lucian said, smiling over at her. "I don't mind walking."

"It's not that far, anyway," Cordelia said. "We're almost there. In fact," she said, squinting her eyes, "that should be the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign just up ahead."

"So why are we heading to Sunnydale again?" Lucian asked. Though he appreciated all of Cordelia's help, he still had no idea who he was, who she was, or why Cordelia was so convinced that he wasn't safe in Los Angeles.

"We have to find someone there," Cordelia answered. Digging through her purse, she finally located her cell phone. "I promise I'll explain everything once we get there," Cordelia vowed again, punching in Giles's telephone number.

"Hey, Giles, it's Cordelia," she said into the phone. "Look, I have a small problem. Can you pick me up?" She asked. After a few minutes of wrangling, she finally convinced Giles to pick her and Lucian up at the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign.

"Who's Giles?" Lucian asked, running a hand over his head. "I really think I used to have hair," he muttered to himself.

"Giles is an old friend of mine...and by old, I mean old. He's like fifty," Cordelia said, watching Lucian out of the corner of her eye. "I think it looks good."

"What?" Lucian asked, looking over at her.

"Your hair...shaved liked that. It looks good," Cordelia complimented, mentally reminding herself that falling for the fallen Power would not be the best of ideas.

Lucian grinned and looked back down at the road in embarrassment. "Thanks," he muttered, just loud enough for Cordelia to hear.

"Giles will be here soon. Then we can focus on locating this chick Kara, who they told me to go find," Cordelia said, sitting down on the ground next to the sign.

"Who are they?" Lucian asked, sitting next to her.

Cordelia looked over at him and sighed. "Well, the Powers that Be," she said. Lucian's head snapped up.

"Powers that Be?" He repeated. For some reason, that phrase sounded incredibly familiar to him. "Why do I know that?"

"Lucian...," Cordelia said, turning to face him and grabbing his hands with hers. "You are one."

.......................................

"Yeah?" Kara asked, answering her phone. Looking over at Kennedy, she grabbed her hand, and pulled her over toward the entrance of the Bronze. "We'll be right there," Kara said, hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Kennedy yelled over the music.

"Giles called. He wants us to meet him at his apartment in a half hour," Kara said, stepping out into the fresh, night air.

"What for?"

"He's picking up a couple of people who apparently are looking for me," Kara said, shrugging her shoulder. "I don't know why though."

"It was getting kinda crowded in there anyway," Kennedy said, motioning back toward the Bronze.

"Yeah," Kara said, lacing her fingers through Kennedy's. Looking up at the moon, she couldn't help but wonder why Cordelia was looking for her. She remembered Spike telling her about Sunnydale's former resident bitch, how she had been gifted with visions from the Powers that Be. Apparently, Cordelia had someone with her, someone who she told Giles was of incredible power. Kara had a feeling that because of this person, things in Sunnydale were going to change for the worse.


	4. Hell Hounds

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

Looking up at the moon, Kara couldn't help but wonder why Cordelia was looking for her. She remembered Spike telling her about Sunnydale's former resident bitch, how she had been gifted with visions from the Powers that Be. Apparently, Cordelia had someone with her; someone who she told Giles was of incredible power. Kara had a feeling that because of this person, things in Sunnydale were going to change for the worse.

Chapter Three:

"Nope, definitely not Giles," Cordelia said, craning her neck out to catch a glimpse of the car rumbling passed them. "Even he has better taste than that."

"I would hope so," Lucian smirked as Cordelia smiled back at him. They were leaning against the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign, waiting for Giles to give them a lift into town.

"Okay, so where was I. Ah yeah, Buffy. Buffy is the slayer. She's pretty damn self-righteous and when you meet her, you'll get the distinct impression she's got a very large stick shoved up her ass. But she has saved the world a couple of times, so I guess we can't be overly critical now can we?" Cordelia said, chuckling along with Lucian, who was enjoying her rather colorful explanation of the people involved in the Scooby Gang. "Then there's Faith. Faith is the other slayer, who we have so lovingly dubbed "the psycho slayer." There was this little incident where she whacked a couple of people and then tried to help a giant snake destroy the town. Apparently, we're all over that now though. Angel doesn't particularly like to talk about it, but she and Buffy got married a couple of months ago."

"Giant snake?" Lucian asked, thinking the story somewhat familiar.

"Yeah, Richard Wilkins was the Mayor of Sunnydale. He ascended into this giant snake demon on graduation day. Buffy blew up the school to kill him," Cordelia explained. "Which I imagine was probably the most common violent fantasy of every single person there."

"And then you moved to Los Angeles after that," Lucian stated, trying to establish some sort of timeline in his mind.

"To chase my dream of becoming a movie star," Cordelia said dramatically, then smiled over at Lucian. "Worked out quite well really, as you can see."

"Of course. You know, I thought you were someone famous when I first saw you," Lucian joked. "Weren't you on the cover of _People_?"

"Damn straight," Cordelia said, then grew more serious. "I came down to Los Angeles and wound up working for Angel, helping the helpless and all of that. He had this half demon working for him at the time – Doyle. Doyle used to get visions from the Powers that Be," Cordelia said.

"From me?" Lucian asked. "Well, from me and the others," he corrected.

"Yeah, well, what's left of the others anyway," Cordelia said. "Doyle died, but before he did, he passed the 'gift' on to me. Now I get the visions, which is how I knew to find you. Also how I know to find this Kara person." Giles had been oddly silent when she mentioned Kara's name. Cordelia made a mental note to inquire further about that once he arrived, though he was already ten minutes late.

"Looks like this car is slowing down," Lucian said, pointing to a pair of headlights heading their way. The car pulled up along side of them and Giles rolled down the passenger's side window. Peering his head out, he smiled briefly.

"Get in," he said as Cordelia and Lucian moved over to the car and hopped in.

"Thanks," Cordelia said, closing the door behind her. Giles pulled back out on the road heading toward town.

"No problem," he said. "You must be Lucian," he said, looking in the rearview mirror at the fallen Power. "I'm Rupert Giles. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Lucian said, smiling briefly. Giles could tell that the young man was a bit nervous.

"So all they told me was to find a girl named Kara," Cordelia said, breaking the silence that crept into the car. "Any ideas who that is?"

"Yes," Giles said as they drew nearer to his apartment. "Kara would most likely be Kara Summers. She's had dealings with the Powers in the past."

"Summers? What is she like Buffy's cousin?" Cordelia asked.

"No," Giles responded evenly. "Kara is Buffy and Faith's daughter."

Cordelia looked over at him for a minute before bursting out laughing. "You're kidding, right?" When he didn't answer, she stopped laughing and stared at him in shock. "Well now, there's a surprise."

.....................................

"Seriously, that was stupidest movie I've ever seen," Dawn said, smiling over at Spike as he chuckled to himself.

"I guess this means you'll be picking the next movie?" He asked, slipping his hand into Dawn's as they walked down the main drag of downtown Sunnydale. It was getting late and the moon was high in the sky. A warm breeze blew down the street, rustling the trash in the gutter. Winter had faded, making way for spring and all that was dead was bursting into life.

"You better believe it," Dawn said, smirking. "We should start heading home," Dawn said, looking down at her watch. "Mom's gonna freak." Even though Joyce knew full well that Spike could take care of both himself and her daughter, she still worried incessantly about both of them. She had come to regard Spike as the son she never had, despite his age and otherworldly inclinations. Now that he had moved into her basement officially, seeing him everyday had only strengthened her maternal feelings toward him.

Spike smirked, always finding it hilarious when he and Dawn would catch Joyce hovering around the kitchen, waiting for them to come home, with some completely lame excuse as to why she was still awake. Dawn looked back at him in surprise when he suddenly stopped walking and dropped her hand. "What is it?" She said, looking alarmed. Spike's face vamped out and he turned toward the opening of an alley just behind him.

A creature came bounding out at him and, catching him a bit off guard, knocked him off his feet. It looked like a werewolf, only much uglier. Its fur was black, shining oily in the moonlight. When it looked back at Dawn, with foamy spit hanging down from its fangs, she noticed its eyes were burning red. Spike leapt to his feet and the creature turned its attention back to the vampire.

"Well, well. If it isn't a bloody hellhound. What're you doing up here, mate?" Spike asked, circling the beast as it growled at him menacingly.

"Are you actually expecting an answer?" Dawn asked, her voice a pitch higher than usual, reflecting her anxiety.

"Relax," Spike said, looking back at her. "He's a nasty looking bugger, I'll warrant, but he's no match for me."

"All the same, let's get outta here," Dawn said, backing away. Spike nodded. The creature looked like it was going to lunge again, when it suddenly stopped and spun around. Sniffing the air, it howled up toward the moon and dashed off into the night.

"Come on," Spike said, grabbing Dawn's hand and running down the street. "Let's go before it changes its mind."

.................................

"Hey, Giles, what is that?" Cordelia asked, pointing to a large shape in the road ahead of them.

"Looks like a big dog," Lucian said from the back seat, leaning forward to get a better look.

Giles squinted and frowned as he gazed at the shape. Slowing down slightly, he noticed that it wasn't moving. "I don't think it's alive, whatever it is," he said.

Suddenly its head lifted and they could see two, round, red eyes peering up at them. "That's not good," Cordelia muttered as Giles slammed on the brakes. The creature got to its feet and started walking toward them.

"Just run over it," Cordelia said, fearing that if they lingered they would regret it.

"It's too big," Giles said. The creature suddenly picked up its pace, advancing from a swift jog to a full out sprint.

"Giles," Cordelia said, bracing herself as the creature loomed closer.

Slamming his foot on the gas, Giles gripped the steering wheel tightly as the car barreled forward. "What're you doing?" Lucian asked, as he was thrown against the back seat from the sudden acceleration.

"Playing a bit of chicken," Giles muttered. He drew closer to the creature. It faltered for a moment, but continued to advance on them.

"I think you're gonna lose," Cordelia said. Finally, Giles jerked the steering wheel and the car veered away from the creature as it lunged toward the windshield. It hit the side of the car and stumbled away into the brush next to the road. They could hear it howling as they drove away.

"What was that?" Lucian asked, once the excitement was over.

"I don't know," Giles said, peering into the rearview mirror. "But I have a feeling it was looking for you."


	5. Late Night Meetings

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em coming. And yes, if you request something in your review, I will do my best to see it done, so long as it fits into the story well enough.

Previously:

Giles jerked the steering wheel and the car veered away from the creature as it lunged toward the windshield. It hit the side of the car and stumbled away into the brush next to the road. They could hear it howling as they drove away.

"What was that?" Lucian asked, once the excitement was over.

"I don't know," Giles said, peering into the rearview mirror. "But I have a feeling it was looking for you."

Chapter Four:

"Kara?" Giles asked, opening the door to his apartment. "Are you here?"

"Yeah," Kara said, rising to her feet from her position on the couch next to Kennedy. "You must be Cordelia," she said, smiling warmly at the seer, who she had never gotten the chance to know in her own world.

"You know, for being Buffy's biological daughter, you look a hell of a lot like Faith," Cordelia commented as she and Lucian filed into the room behind Giles. Giles simply shook his head and proceeded to clean his glasses thoroughly.

"Funny how things work out," Kara commented. "Why did you want to see me?" She asked, steering the conversation toward the business at hand.

"I'd like you to meet Lucian," Cordelia said by way of introduction. "Lucian is one of the Powers that Be."

Kara looked over at him in surprise. "What is he doing here then?" She asked, eying the fallen Power. He looked quite uncomfortable, shifting on his feet under her gaze. Kara frowned, noting that he didn't seem to posses the confidence and tranquility that Veronica radiated. In fact, Lucian seemed almost human.

"A lot has happened in the last couple of hours," Cordelia said, moving over to an armchair. "Mind if we sit?"

"Not at all," Giles said, stepping forward. "Would anyone like some tea?"

"That would be great," Lucian piped up. "Thanks."

"I had a vision," Cordelia said, turning toward Kara. "In that vision, I saw one of the Powers that Be – a woman – being murdered by another."

"Veronica," Kara muttered. "So she's dead then. What happened to her killer?"

"I don't know. I assume he's still at large," Cordelia said regretfully. "At any rate, before she died, Veronica sent me this vision and instructed me to find Lucian. She sent him down to earth in human form to protect him. Unfortunately, he can't remember who he is and I don't know if he still has any power here. But she told me to find you. She said you could keep him safe."

"Why would a Power kill another? What would he have to gain from it?" Kara wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But I have a feeling it was more than petty revenge or some personal issue. These are the Powers that Be we're talking about. They can control everything in the universe, that's why there's three of them, instead of just one. Imagine what would happen if one of them turned evil and killed off the others," Cordelia said.

"He would have sole dominion over the world," Kara commented.

"Not just the world," Giles said from the doorway of the kitchen, carrying in a tray with tea. "Everything."

"Well, this is a whole hell of a lot worse than I thought," Lucian muttered, gratefully excepting his teacup from Giles. Giles smiled warmly down at the young man. It was difficult to imagine that he held one third of all of the power in the universe.

"Well, one half now anyway," Giles muttered to himself, too low for any of the others to hear.

"We don't know nearly enough about the Powers to determine what the rogue Power is trying to do or why," Cordelia said in frustration.

"Lucky day for you, Giles," Kara said with false enthusiasm. "Looks like we've got some researching to do."

Giles simply rolled his eyes. "Heaven forbid you crack a book now and again," he commented.

"I'm all about the grunt work, remember?" Kara said. "Hand me a stake and I'm good to go. Books aren't so useful for killing vampires."

"And once again we seem to have lost focus," Giles said. "Might I suggest we reconvene tomorrow. You both look quite tired," he said, looking at Cordelia and Lucian. "And I would like to fill the others in before we delve too deeply into the matter."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kara said, practically leaping to her feet. "Where should they stay?"

"You can stay here with me if you like," Giles offered. "I don't imagine you'll have any trouble tonight. You should be safe enough here."

"Thanks," Cordelia said, yawning widely. "I think we'll take you up on that offer."

"Alright then. So, I'll call Jack and Buffy, tell them to alert the others. We'll meet at Buffy's house ten o'clock tomorrow morning," Giles instructed. "Be careful on your way home," he said as Kara and Kennedy moved toward the door.

"We will. Listen, if anything suspicious happens, anything at all, call us right away," Kara said, pulling the door open. "See you tomorrow."

Shutting the door behind her and Kennedy, Kara looked up into the sky. Veronica was dead. The Power must have known. The last time Kara saw her, Veronica indicated that they would not meet again. Though Kara had wondered at the Power's words, she had not thought about them since. With all of the excitement of the spell that brought forth all of the slayers from the past, the battle with the First, and the subsequent celebrations, Kara had forgotten about the incident entirely. Now, Veronica's words lingered fresh in her mind.

"You okay?" Kennedy asked, slipping her arm around Kara's waist and pulling her a fraction of an inch closer. Kara smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though her voice held a trace of sadness.

"She was a friend of yours, yeah? Veronica?" Kennedy asked, watching Kara's face closely. Kara could dismiss her feelings in a instance, hiding them altogether from most people. But Kennedy had learned to look deeper, much like Buffy had with Faith. Kara and Faith were similar in that regard. Whatever face they portrayed to the world was usually quite opposite of what was inside, stirring in their hearts.

"She helped us when no one else would," Kara said. "We're all indebted to her. But yes, she was a friend."

"Wherever she is now, I'm sure she's fine," Kennedy said consolingly. "Besides, I doubt that all of this just happened arbitrarily."

"You're right, it didn't," Kara agreed. "The last time I saw Veronica, she told me she doubted we would meet again. She knew this was going to happen, yet she let it happen nonetheless. I don't understand why," Kara said in frustration.

"I'm sure she had her reasons, whatever they might have been," Kennedy said. "They'll become clear to us eventually."

"Probably when we least expect it," Kara said, smiling over at Kennedy. "Veronica was like that. She liked to keep you on your toes, that's for sure."

Kara and Kennedy finished walking the rest of the way home in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Kara unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was dark in the house. "You think Buffy and Faith are here?" She asked. She moved quickly over to the stairs, able to see perfectly in the dark. Kennedy trailed behind her.

"They probably wore themselves out," Kennedy smirked.

Kara rolled her eyes, though Kennedy couldn't see her. "Thanks, I really needed that mental image."

"Sorry," Kennedy said, though not in the least apologetic. They reached their bedroom door and Kara pushed it open. Quickly changing into tank tops and training shorts, they both crawled into bed, exhausted. Kara snuggled closer to Kennedy, resting her head inches from Kennedy's. She could smell the other girl's shampoo and she smiled slightly. Tracing her fingertips along Kennedy's face, she leaned in and kissed the other girl, her lips barely grazing hers.

"I love you," she whispered into the kiss, running her tongue along Kennedy's bottom lip.

"I love you too," Kennedy whispered back, gazing into Kara's eyes. They lay side by side, watching each other until their eyelids grew heavy and each surrendered to sleep.


	6. Scooby Meetings

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: I'm making all of the stuff about the Powers that Be up. I don't know if they were ever explained on Buffy or Angel, so I'm just going to run with it. Sorry this one's short, but I've got a ton of stuff to do. I'll be out of town tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update or not. But I will have the next chapter up on Sunday.

Previously:

"Alright then. So, I'll call Jack and Buffy, tell them to alert the others. We'll meet at Buffy's house ten o'clock tomorrow morning," Giles instructed. "Be careful on your way home," he said as Kara and Kennedy moved toward the door.

Chapter Five:

"Everyone, this is Rebecca Hart. The Coven sent her to explain a bit about the Powers that Be, at least, what we know thus far," Giles announced, then sat on the couch next to Joyce as Rebecca stood to address the group gathered before her. They were all sitting in Buffy's living room, as usual, armed with coffee and doughnuts, much to Xander's delight.

"Unfortunately, we don't know that much," Rebecca said, her voice carrying a proper English accent. "However, we do have some basic information that we gathered from an ancient text written by one of the watchers whose slayer had dealings with the Powers. According to him, the Powers are chosen from those who died serving the cause of good and righteousness."

"Who chooses them?" Faith asked, taking a sip of her coffee, which was more sugar than anything else.

"We don't know," Rebecca answered. "What we do know is that Lucian, Veronica, and the third Power are not the original Powers. It would seem as though the Powers are intermittently replaced, or else they voluntarily diminish."

"What do you mean?" Lucian asked.

"This watcher, Giorgio Umberto, referred to two of the Powers by name, neither of which matched yours or Veronica's. Naturally, we assumed then that the Powers run in cycles. If the same beings controlled the universe from its conception until now, nothing would ever change. However, with new leadership taking control throughout the centuries, things are bound to happen to move the universe forward – to progress," Rebecca said.

"We haven't read any account of a Power killing another, nor of a Power turning evil. I imagine it would be safe to assume that we are dealing with an entirely new situation. Though Lucian has not been able to tap into his powers, as of yet, that's not to say that this third Power cannot. In fact, I would wager that this individual is actively seeking out Lucian with all of the power he or she possesses. If the third Power has come here, breaking the unwritten law that the Powers that Be have stood by for centuries, we could be in serious trouble," Rebecca stated.

"No one knows that Lucian is here though," Cordelia argued.

"Then how do you explain the wee mutts that attacked both Dawn and I last night and the lot of you?" Spike asked. "Someone has to know."

"Which means that someone is looking for you as we speak," Kara said, looking over at Lucian.

"Will I be safe here?" Lucian asked, turning toward Rebecca and Giles.

"The Council and the Coven will do everything in our power to ensure your safety, that much we both can guarantee you," Giles answered. "However, with what little knowledge we have, we don't know what to protect you from."

"All we know right now is that by killing Veronica, the third Power has clearly indicated that he or she is actively trying to take control of everything. We cannot rightly say whether the Power killed Veronica out of evil, or out of some necessity to prevent a greater harm. However, I feel it is best if we assume the worst. If the Power succeeds in killing Lucian, than nothing will stand between him, hypothetically, and the ability to destroy everything in this world, and every other world, at whim," Rebecca said.

"We will do everything in our power to ensure that doesn't happen," Giles said forcefully. "Alright, here's the plan for now. The Council and the Coven will continue to research the Powers that Be. Hopefully we'll be able to find out who the third Power is. Until then, someone must remain with Lucian at all times, preferably a slayer. Don't trust any strangers and don't leave the house unless it's absolutely necessary. The third Power could be in Sunnydale now, looking for you," Giles said, glancing over at Lucian. Then turning to Joyce, he said, "I hope you don't mind having another house guest, but I think it would be best if he stayed here."

"It's perfectly fine," Joyce responded, smiling warmly at Lucian.

"I can stay with him during the days," Spike spoke up. "It's not like I can go out or anything, and I'm here anyway."

"Good," Giles said approvingly. "Any volunteers for tonight?"

"Kennedy and I can do it," Kara said. "We didn't really have any plans."

"Alright, so we're set for today at least. Willow and I will construct a schedule for the rest of the week. We'll see what happens after that. Any questions?" When no one spoke up, Giles nodded. "Okay, I believe we're done here."

Everyone got up to leave, each having places to be and things to do. Spike looked over at Lucian and smiled. "Looks like it's just you and me, mate," he said.

"Yeah. So what do you want to do?" Lucian asked.

"Ever seen _Passions_?"


	7. Promotions

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Happy Halloween to all my readers. I'm kind of in a creative rut, so some reviews would be nice. Thanks.

Previously:

"We haven't read any account of a Power killing another, nor of a Power turning evil. I imagine it would be safe to assume that we are dealing with an entirely new situation. Though Lucian has not been able to tap into his powers, as of yet, that's not to say that this third Power cannot. In fact, I would wager that this individual is actively seeking out Lucian with all of the power he or she possesses. If the third Power has come here, breaking the unwritten law that the Powers that Be have stood by for centuries, we could be in serious trouble," Rebecca stated.

Chapter Six:

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Kara asked, looking on the scene in front of her with a doubtful look on her face.

"It is believed that hypnotherapy can unlock repressed memories. I don't see why it wouldn't work," Giles stated matter-of-factly. "Alright, Lucian, I want you to take a deep breath."

"But Lucian didn't repress his memories, did he?" Kennedy whispered over to Kara. Kara shrugged. They didn't know why Lucian couldn't remember his time as one of the Powers that Be. Perhaps he had repressed the memories. On the other hand, perhaps his mind was unable to comprehend what his time prior to his incarnation on earth had been like. Either way, Kara was doubtful about the results hypnotizing Lucian would bring. However, as they had nothing else going for them, she thought it was the best idea they had.

"What is he doing?" Faith asked, walking up behind Kara and leaning over, resting her elbows on the back of Kara's chair.

"Shh," Kara said, looking back at her mother. "Giles is hypnotizing Lucian."

"Why?" Faith whispered, watching with interest.

"It's supposed to unlock memories," Kennedy said, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of her.

"How?" Faith asked, her curiosity now entirely piqued. Looking back up at Lucian, she wondered, briefly, why anyone would want to remember things that their mind had intentionally repressed. Often, those memories were traumatic ones. Faith knew personally the effects traumatic memories could have on a person's life. She often wished she could forget half of the things she remembered from her childhood. Unfortunately, she wasn't afforded that luxury.

"Giles is guiding Lucian into a meditative state. Once Lucian has relaxed and loses himself in his mind, Giles will start asking him questions about his past. Theoretically, Lucian should be able to answer them," Kara explained.

Faith nodded, watching as Giles finished his meditation exercise. "Lucian, I'm going to ask you some questions now. Answer as best you can," Giles said slowly. "Before you came here, where were you?"

Lucian sat with his eyes closed, his palms resting upwards on his legs. His back was perfectly straight and his face held a calm that indicated he was completely relaxed. "I was at the reflecting pool," Lucian answered.

"What were you doing there?" Giles asked, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees. Next to him, Cordelia started writing notes. Giles had requested she be there to jot down what Lucian said and Lucian had requested she be there because she made him feel comfortable.

"I was watching the water," Lucian said. "Watching all of the people."

"What is the reflecting pool?" Giles asked, more out of professional curiosity than out of any relevance to the information they were trying to gather.

"The reflecting pool shows us the lives of every person on this world and all of the others. We can watch how things progress. It's how we knew what was happening here," Lucian responded. Cordelia looked up. It was both disturbing and comforting to know that someone was always looking down on them.

"You were at the reflecting pool. What happened next?" Giles asked. If the last place Lucian remembered being was at the reflecting pool, than whatever had happened occurred right after.

"I saw something in the water," Lucian said. His face scrunched up in concentration.

"What did you see?" Giles asked.

"Veronica. She was sitting in the drawing room," Lucian replied.

"The drawing room?" Giles asked. He was always fascinated by different dimensions and realities.

"It's a transitory reality, one of the places where we live. Veronica liked it because it reminded her of her watcher's mansion," Lucian replied. "It was so ornately decorated. Almost like a palace."

"Veronica was a slayer?" Giles asked in surprise.

"Yes," Lucian answered. "She died preventing a Hellmouth from opening in Spain. She was truly remarkable. I remember watching her fight in the reflecting pool."

"What happened next?"

Lucian paused. His face blanched as the memory came to him. "I saw Cassius come into the room."

"Cassius is the third power?" Giles asked, glancing over at Cordelia to make sure she was writing down the name.

"I got it. I got it," Cordelia muttered, writing as fast as she could.

"Yes, Cassius. I saw him come in and stab Veronica. I ran there as fast as I could, but it was too late," Lucian said, as a single tear rolled down his face. Cordelia could feel her heart breaking for him, but she said nothing.

"Cassius fled?" Giles asked, leaning back in his chair.

"He wasn't there when I arrived. Veronica said she had seen something in the waters, something that spoke great evil to her. She told me she would send someone for me," Lucian said. Cordelia looked up, knowing that person had been her.

"And after that?" Giles prodded.

"I woke up on the side of the road," Lucian replied simply.

"Very good. Listen carefully, Lucian," Giles said as he began bringing Lucian out of his meditative state.

"Damn," Faith muttered.

"It really worked," Kennedy observed, obviously impressed.

"Cassius," Kara muttered to herself. Knowing the name of her friend's killer somehow made the entire situation worse. Before, he had just been some nameless, evil entity. Now, he had a name. He had a life. It made Veronica's death seem more personal to her.

"Strange name," Faith stated.

"It's Latin," Kara replied almost automatically.

"How do you know that?" Kennedy asked, looking over at her.

"Giles taught me Latin before he died in my world," Kara said, rising to her feet. "I'm gonna get some air."

"Are you okay?" Kennedy asked, standing and laying her hand on Kara's arm. Kara turned back and smiled half-heartedly at her.

"I'm fine," she said, leaning in and giving her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back later."

................................

The sun was shining brightly down on her as Kara walked through one of the numerous cemeteries in Sunnydale. She wasn't particularly paying attention to where she was walking; instead, she wandered without purpose or direction. She felt as though a heavy weight was pulling her toward the ground and she couldn't shake the feeling. Pausing in front of a grave, she looked down and read the writing etched onto the stone.

"You died a week ago," she muttered to herself. "I wonder if it was my fault." She often wondered how many people died because she decided not to patrol or cut her patrols short. Though she saved more lives than she could count, she had also been responsible for the ending of a great deal of lives. Ultimately, she wondered if she had saved more lives than she ended, or if the numbers would wind up the same.

"You knew her?" A voice behind her asked. Looking back, Kara saw a man standing behind her. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved, white button up shirt. His graying hair was thinning on his head and he looked to be about sixty. He had crisp, clear blue eyes that seemed to pierce through her soul, however, and Kara turned away.

"Not really, just an acquaintance," Kara responded, giving a small shrug.

"Well, I'm sure she's glad for the company," the man said, walking up beside Kara and stopping next to her. "What's your name?"

"Kara," she said, looking over at the man. He nodded and smiled. Then he extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kara," he said. Kara smiled back and shook his hand. A strange feeling passed through her and for a moment, she felt like she was falling. "My name's Cassius." Kara looked over at him. Her vision blurred for a moment. She could feel the life pouring out of her and Cassius's life pouring in. "You have to understand, I'm not human like him," Cassius said. "I need some way to stay here. I'm sure all of this seems completely unfair," he said smiling, his voice starting to fade as he faded into Kara. "But I've never been a woman before. Always thought it might be interesting. Besides, your lover is absolutely delectable."

A bright light flashed through the cemetery and when it faded, Kara was standing alone. But she wasn't Kara anymore. Kara was locked away, caged deep in the recesses of her mind by Cassius's power, screaming to be freed. Cassius had taken control of her body and planned on using it to his full advantage. Looking down at Kara's body, Cassius smiled through Kara's lips. "This is gonna be fun," he said through her voice. "I think I might pay a little visit to the girlfriend. It has been a while."

.....................................

Callum felt like he was perpetually falling, surrounded by some sort of clouds that slowed his descent. The world around him was bright and he couldn't distinguish one object from the next. Suddenly, it felt as if the clouds had dispersed and he was falling at an incredible rate of speed, plunging down into a dark abyss. All of the air flew out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath. His sides hurt and he landed on a hard surface with an audible thump and a few cracks.

"Bloody hell," he muttered to himself. He blinked several times and above him, he could see the sky. It was incredibly blue. "I thought I was dead."

"You were, my friend," someone said. Looking over, Callum saw an old man sitting on the hood of a car.

"Who're you, mate?" Callum asked, still laying on the asphalt of some parking lot, with little crumbling pebbles digging into his cheek.

"That's not really important," the man said, smiling. He stood and walked forward, pausing next to Callum. Reaching his hand down, he waited. Callum took his hand and the man pulled him to his feet.

"So why am I here if I was dead? Wasn't I supposed to move on, or something," Callum asked, running a hand through his hair. "And where the bloody hell am I?"

"Right back where you started," the man answered. "Don't you recognize this hospital?"

"No," Callum answered, looking around and taking in his surroundings.

"Well, you weren't exactly born in it. You see, your mother barely made it here. Had you in this parking lot in the middle of the afternoon," the old man said, smiling jovially. Though Callum imagined it was meant to comfort him, he was slightly put off by it.

"Alright, look. I don't mean to get nasty with you, mate, but what the hell is going on?" Callum asked in frustration.

"You've been sent back. There's something you have to do. Only you can do it and you need to figure out a way to make it happen," the old man said, his face turning serious. "One of the Powers that Be has been murdered by the other. The surviving Power was sent down to earth to be protected from the killer. The killer's name is Cassius. Right now, he's in Sunnydale. He's taken over Kara's body in order to find Lucian, the surviving Power, and kill him. You have to stop him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Callum asked.

"Do you know how the Powers that Be are selected?" The man asked. Callum shook his head. "The Powers that Be are chosen from those who have died serving good and righteousness. You died trying to stop the First, Callum. There's an opening. We want you to fill it."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to become one of the Powers that Be?" Callum asked in disbelief.

"Exactly," the man said.

"Holy shit," Callum muttered, laughing to himself. "Oh, sorry," he said, quickly apologizing for cursing in front of the man, who was obviously much more than he appeared to be.

"So, do you accept?" The man asked, smiling warmly at Callum, almost in a paternal way.

"Yeah," Callum said immediately.

"Good. We need you to go to Sunnydale. You can release Kara, but Cassius will resist. Things are different there, you know," the old man said.

"Different how?" Callum asked, though he feared he already knew the answer.

"She's moved on."

"With who?" He asked, trying to figure it out. The man smiled.

"Kennedy," he said.

Callum looked at him for a moment. "Kennedy? Kennedy's a chick," Callum stated. "Huh, well, I didn't see that coming."

"You have to hurry," the man said. "Remember, if Lucian dies, Cassius will come after you. He doesn't know you've been chosen yet. But if he finds out, you'll be next."

"Got it," Callum said. "Go to Sunnydale, free Kara. I can handle that," he said.

"Good. I'll be watching," the man said, before turning and walking away. Callum watched until he faded into a shadow. Then, turning, he smiled to himself and began walking, not entirely sure where he was going. It had been a long time since he had been in the neighborhood. Reaching into his pockets, Callum noted that he didn't have any money.

"Well how the bloody hell am I supposed to get to America?" He muttered to himself. "You don't think you could've lent me some money?" He yelled up toward the sky. "Shouldn't that be some kind of perk of the job?" Sighing in frustration, Callum started walking again. "I could use a drink."


	8. Revelations

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Oh, how I love writing Callum, it's just so fun. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and keep them coming, as it's always nice to know I'm not just writing for myself.

Previously:

A bright light flashed through the cemetery and when it faded, Kara was standing alone. But she wasn't Kara anymore. Kara was locked away, caged deep in the recesses of her mind by Cassius's power, screaming to be freed. Cassius had taken control of her body and planned on using it to his full advantage. Looking down at Kara's body, Cassius smiled through Kara's lips. "This is gonna be fun," he said through her voice. "I think I might pay a little visit to the girlfriend. It has been a while."

.......................................

"Do you know how the Powers that Be are selected?" The man asked. Callum shook his head. "The Powers that Be are chosen from those who have died serving good and righteousness. You died trying to stop the First, Callum. There's an opening. We want you to fill it."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to become one of the Powers that Be?" Callum asked in disbelief.

Chapter Seven:

Callum jolted awake. The sun was shining down on his face. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair and stretched. He had spent the night in an alley behind a pub he used to frequent in the future, before he had been sent back to Sunnydale the first time. Though it wasn't the most pleasant experience, he imagined it could have been worse. After all, a lot of drunks did use that alley as their own personal urinal. Nonetheless, he wasn't entirely sure whether it was just the alley that reeked, or if it was him as well. Pulling himself to his feet, he straightened his clothes and began walking. He needed a plan, some way to get back to Sunnydale. Unfortunately, planning had never quite been his forte. Slipping into a fast food restaurant, he locked the bathroom door behind him and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Bloody hell, I look like shit," he muttered. Turning on the sink, he rinsed his face off with warm water. He couldn't remember much about his time in limbo, between when he died and came back. However, he imagined it was much better than this. "Got the raw end of the bloody deal, I did," he said. Leaning his head into the sink, he rinsed his hair. Then he pumped some hand soap onto his palm and rubbed it through his dark hair. He rinsed the soap out; watching as the suds circled the drain and disappeared.

Someone pounded on the bathroom door and Callum glared back at it. "Someone's in here," he yelled, satisfied when the banging stopped. When he was finally done grooming himself, as best he could given the circumstances, he pulled the bathroom door open.

"Sorry, mate," he said, clapping the rather burly, irate man standing in front of him on the shoulder. Then he stepped to the side and walked around him, slipping out of the restaurant. "Now, about money," he said to himself. Looking down the street, he could see a guy playing a guitar on the corner. He had his guitar case opened in front of him and people were throwing money into it as they passed by. Callum smiled widely.

"Bingo," he muttered and casually began walking down the street. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited, pretending to listen. When the guy finished his song, a girl approached him, obviously flirting, and asking some stupid question about the meaning behind his music. Callum smirked to himself. "Why do girls always fall for musicians?" He asked himself. Walking forward, he dipped down, pretending to drop some money into the guitar case. Grabbing a fistful of bills, he discreetly slipped them into his pocket and kept walking down the street.

Once he had turned the corner at the next street, he fished the money out of his pocket and quickly counted it. "Well, I only have to do that about a hundred more times," he muttered in frustration. "There's gotta be a better way," he said, looking around. It was still early in the morning and not many people were about yet. Callum's eyes rested on a convertible sitting just across the street. He had never stolen a car before, but as this was his third turn at life, he figured it was about time he tried.

.....................................

Cassius, in Kara's body, watched from the doorway of their bedroom as Kennedy walked out of the bathroom, clad in a towel, and laid some clothes out on the bed. Kennedy hadn't noticed her yet. Cassius let Kara's eyes roam freely over the curves of Kennedy's body, taking in the beautiful sight before him. "Hey," he finally said through Kara's voice. Kennedy turned and smiled back at her.

"Hey yourself," she said. "Where were you last night? You didn't come back," Kennedy said, walking over to Kara. Tracing her hand down the side of Kara's face, Kennedy flashed her a devilish grin before capturing her lips with her own. Kennedy moaned when she felt Kara's tongue slip into her mouth. Kennedy broke away, gasping for breath. "So, you gonna answer my question?" She asked after a few moments.

Kara smiled. Cassius was enjoying himself. He could feel Kara's body reacting to Kennedy's kiss. Now, however, was the first test of his acting skills. Though he had watched Kara before, knew almost everything there was to know about her, he still had to pull off actually being her. "I just went out on patrol. Stayed in the cemetery the whole night. I'm actually kinda tired," Cassius said through Kara's voice, faking a yawn. Kennedy looked sympathetic.

"If you wanna get some sleep, I can wake you up before we're supposed to leave to watch Lucian," Kennedy said, not noticing as Kara's eyes gleamed at the mention of the fallen Power.

"That would be great," Cassius said, smiling widely. Reaching out, he pulled Kennedy in for another kiss, relishing the way the girl's lips felt on Kara's. When the kiss broke, Kennedy turned back to the bed and began to get dressed. Moving over to the other side of the bed, Cassius watched through Kara's eyes. He could feel Kara's desire and it nearly scorched him.

"You're never gonna get to sleep if you keep staring at me like that," Kennedy teased, throwing a knowing look back at her girlfriend. Kara tilted her head slightly and smiled wolfishly.

"Maybe I'm not so tired after all," she said. Cassius could feel his own desire mounting as Kennedy stalked forward, clad only in her bra and panties.

"Good, 'cuz I really missed you last night," Kennedy said, her voice low and husky. Cassius felt a shudder pass through Kara's body. This was going to be fun.

.......................................

Cordelia and Lucian were sitting in Joyce's kitchen, both holding steaming mugs of coffee. "So do you think I did okay?" Lucian asked, referring to the previous night's hypnotism.

"Yeah, you did fine. Giles seemed pretty excited about the information you gave him. He went running off to consult his books. That's always a good sign," Cordelia said, smiling reassuringly to back up her words.

"Good," Lucian said. His eyes were fixed on the table. He couldn't bring himself to look up at Cordelia. He knew if he did, he would lose himself in her beauty.

"You okay?" Cordelia asked, noticing how he was looking everywhere but at her.

"I'm fine," Lucian said. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but he wasn't so sure she wanted the same thing. After all, his life was rather complicated, even if he couldn't remember any of it without the help of hypnotherapy.

"Really? Cuz you seem a little distracted to me," Cordelia stated. "Did I do something?"

"No," Lucian quickly replied, looking up at her. He instantly regretted it. He could see the pain and uncertainty lying behind Cordelia's eyes, pain he had put there by ignoring her. "You didn't do anything," he repeated softly. "I'm just having a hard time with all of this."

"That's understandable," Cordelia said, compassion shooting through her expressive eyes. Lucian felt himself drowning in them.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said, unaware of his slip of the tongue. Cordelia looked up at him in surprise. Lucian quickly looked back down when he realized what he had said.  
"Thanks," Cordelia said, watching Lucian's reaction with interest. Though she had instantly been attracted to him, her attraction had grown into something more. She had entirely forgotten about Angel and the rest of the gang back in L.A. Though she had called Angel to let him know where she and his car were, she hadn't contacted him since. She imagined the souled vampire was probably out of his mind with worry, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She never wanted to leave Sunnydale, so long as Lucian was there.

Cordelia was certain, in that moment, watching Lucian fidget under her gaze, that he felt something resembling what she felt for him. Rising to her feet, she walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in her own. "Look at me," she said softly. Lucian raised his eyes, resting them on Cordelia's face. Reaching up, Cordelia traced the side of his face with her fingertips. She ran her hand down to his neck and pulled him forward. The air around them seemed to crackle with electricity as she leaned forward. Their lips were only inches away. Looking into Lucian's eyes, Cordelia could see the same desire that lived in hers reflected there. It gave her the spark of courage she needed to finish her task. Closing her eyes, she closed the distance between them and their lips touched.


	9. Murder

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Maybe I'm not so tired after all," she said. Cassius could feel his own desire mounting as Kennedy stalked forward, clad only in her bra and panties.

"Good, 'cuz I really missed you last night," Kennedy said, her voice low and husky. Cassius felt a shudder pass through Kara's body. This was going to be fun.

Chapter Eight: 

Cassius watched Lucian through Kara's eyes. He could see his prize, so close, but he couldn't make his move. With Cordelia and Kennedy in the room, anything he did would blow his cover. He watched Cordelia laugh at something Lucian said. Looking away, he sighed through Kara's lips. They were watching some old movie on television. It was in black and white and the actors exaggerated every line to such an extent that Cassius couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"So has the Coven found any new information about Cassius?" Kennedy asked, shifting her attention away from the television.

"Nothing much," Cordelia responded. Cassius looked over at them out of the corner of Kara's eye. They were getting their information from the Coven. Cassius smiled slightly, knowing instinctively what he had to do. He couldn't sneak away yet, but he had a few hours in the morning to himself. Then he would do it. Cassius reached Kara's arm out and wrapped it around Kennedy's shoulders. Kennedy smiled and leaned back into her girlfriend, resting her head on Kara's shoulder.

"This is perfect," Kennedy muttered.

............................

Faith sighed and resisted the urge to bang her head down on the desk she was sitting at. For several months, she had been taking classes, working toward her GED. It had been years since she sat in an actual classroom for the purpose of learning. Though it had taken her a little while to adjust to it again, she found that she was excelling. She had never been stupid; rather, she had never had the motivation to do well in anything. But that was before Buffy. Faith could still distinctly remember the night Buffy proposed to her. Buffy had talked about the future, about what she and Faith could be.

Though Faith had never stopped to consider that she would even have a future, now that she wasn't on her own anymore, she wanted desperately to grow old with Buffy. Even if that meant taking classes at night and studying in between training with Giles and patrolling. Thus far, she had managed to hide her activities from Buffy, though she suspected her wife was starting to get suspicious. She didn't want to worry the older slayer, but she wanted to surprise her.

Glancing up at the clock in the front of the classroom, she mentally rejoiced. There was only ten minutes to go until she got out for the night. Then she could go home and get a long, hot shower, hopefully, with the gorgeous blonde that took up most of her thoughts. When the class finally let out, Faith was the first one out of the door. Pushing open the front doors of the community center, she sighed happily as the warm summer air hit her face. She briefly considered sweeping through the cemetery, but remembered that Jack was taking one of his slayers out that night.

Steering her feet towards her house, she shoved her hands in her pockets and let the silence of the evening fill her mind. She smiled, enjoying the feeling. Her mind wasn't often free of the turmoil and chaos that raged within her. But tonight, her mind was a blank slate. It was almost as if every day she spent with Buffy erased some of the blackness off her soul, left there by her past.

When she finally reached home, she gently pushed open the door and closed it behind her. She smiled, hearing the shower upstairs already running. Ascending the stairs, she entered her and Buffy's room and stripped off her clothes, casually tossing them onto the bed. She opened the bathroom door and stepped inside. The tile floor was cold against her bare feet. She transversed the length of the bathroom and knocked on the glass door of the shower booth.

"Hey," Buffy said, sliding the door open. She reached out her hand and pulled Faith inside.

"How's my girl?" Faith asked, smiling as she closed the shower door behind her.

"Much better now," Buffy replied, pulling Faith closer. Once she could feel Faith's body pressed against hers, she smiled and looked up into Faith's chocolate brown eyes. "Have a good training session?" She asked.

Faith nodded. She had told Buffy she was training with Jack and some of the others. Jack was fully aware of Faith's commitment to getting her GED and had happily lied for her on several occasions already. "Yeah, they kicked my ass," Faith joked. Then she smiled devilishly and grabbed Buffy by the waist, pushing her back against the shower wall. "But to be perfectly honest," she said, her voice low and rough. It sent shivers down Buffy's spine. "I really don't feel like talking right now." Faith eagerly captured Buffy's lips with her own, moaning when her tongue met with Buffy's, dancing inside of her mouth. The water flowed over them, heating their skin, and all Faith could feel was the intense love that overflowed in her heart for the woman in her arms.

............................

Kara stood outside of Rebecca Hart's apartment. The first rays of the sun were just peaking over the trees off in the distance, but Cassius knew that Rebecca would be awake. Knocking on the door, he waited, rocking back and forth on the soles of Kara's feet. He could hear someone shuffling inside and finally, the door opened.

"Kara. This is a pleasant surprise. Please, come in," Rebecca said, opening the door. Cassius smiled through Kara's lips.

"Thanks," he said through her voice. Rebecca closed the door and moved further into the apartment, her back to Kara. Cassius watched her as he discreetly slipped a long knife out of his jacket sleeve.

"So what can I do for you?" Rebecca asked. Cassius swiftly moved behind her and plunged the knife into the base of her spinal column. He could hear her audibly gasp. Her body stiffened in his arms and he drove the knife deeper.

"I'm really sorry about all of this," he said through Kara's voice. "But I'm not really myself lately." He could feel the life draining out of the woman in his arms. Letting her go, she turned slightly, looking back at him, before dropping to the floor. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and her mouth hung slightly open, a trail of blood running down her chin.

Cassius knelt down beside her and tiled Kara's head slightly, watching as Rebecca took her final breath. Her eyes dimmed and Cassius smiled. Yanking the knife free from the woman's back, he wiped it off on her shirt, and shoved it back up his sleeve. Taking a deep breath, Cassius stood. He could feel Kara's left hand jerking slightly. Looking down, he noticed that her hand was trembling, her fingers twitching. Closing Kara's eyes, he took several deep breaths. He felt like he was having a panic attack. Anxiety surged through him and sweat dotted Kara's forehead.

"What is going on," he muttered aloud. Suddenly, he could feel Kara's presence in his mind, fighting to break free. Cassius smiled. "I don't think so," he said sternly. Focusing all of his energies, he pushed Kara back down, back into the corner of his mind. Opening his eyes, he wiped the sweat off Kara's brow and smiled to himself. Kara's fingers were still twitching, but he was in control again.

Looking down at the body of the Rebecca Hart, he murmured, "One down."


	10. Mile High Club

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. ï

Previously:

Cassius swiftly moved behind Rebecca and plunged the knife into the base of her spinal column. He could hear her audibly gasp. Her body stiffened in his arms and he drove the knife deeper. "I'm really sorry about all of this," he said through Kara's voice. "But I'm not really myself lately." He could feel the life draining out of the woman in his arms. Letting her go, she turned slightly, looking back at him, before dropping to the floor. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and her mouth hung slightly open, a trail of blood running down her chin.

Chapter Nine:

"Excuse me, son? Are you alright?" Callum looked over at the elderly woman across the aisle. He smiled slightly, despite the intense fear gripping his heart.

"I can honestly say I've been better," he said.

"First time flying?" She asked, giving him a knowing look.

"Basically. I've done a lot of scary stuff in my life, probably more than most people. But flying is just unnatural," he said. He was gripping his armrests fiercely, his knuckles turning weight.

"I wouldn't worry too much," the woman said. "We've all got somebody watching over us, keeping us from harm."

Callum looked over at her. She turned her attention back to the crossword puzzle in her hand. Callum smiled, knowing that he was the person looking after everyone. He was one of the Powers that Be now. Breathing deeply, he loosened his grip on the armrests and felt the fear clutching his heart dissipate. "Yeah, we're gonna be just fine," he muttered to himself.

He still felt bad about stealing the car that paid for his ticket. But, he figured in the long run, saving the world was worth it and perhaps, once he was living in his mansion in the sky, he could pay back the person who owned said stolen car. He could feel the plane start to pull down the runway, gaining speed as it went. As its wheels lifted off the runway, Callum closed his eyes, feeling the pressure in the cabin wearing down on his head. "Like I said, unnatural," he murmured. Despite his personal discomfort, he was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. At least one hurdle was out of the way; he was now officially on his way to Sunnydale, well, Los Angeles at least. What he was going to do once he got to Sunnydale, however, he had yet to figure out.

........................................

"So what's with the emergency meeting G-man?" Faith asked, plopping down on the couch next to Buffy. They were gathered in Joyce's house, as usual, though this time the crowd was significantly less. Only Spike, Dawn, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Giles, Kara, Kennedy, Jack, Buffy, Lucian, Cordelia, Willow, Tara, and she were present.

"Unfortunately, I have some rather bad news," Giles said gravely. He was standing next to Jack in the front of the room, his hands resting in his pockets.

"What's the deal?" Xander asked, wrapping an arm around Anya's shoulder.

"Rebecca Hart was murdered last night," Jack said, much to the astonishment of the collective group.

"Does anyone know who did it?" Kara asked. Cassius watched Giles carefully.

"Not at the moment. Council investigators are working diligently to catch the killer; however, we don't have any leads at the moment," Giles replied.

"Would it be safe to say that Cassius is our prime suspect?" Willow asked. She looked over at Tara and gently grasped her hand. Both she and Tara had worked closely with Rebecca since the battle with the First. Together, they had helped to establish the presence of both the Council and the Coven in Sunnydale. Additionally, Rebecca had been a great teacher to Willow and Tara, helping them to learn more about their craft.

"I imagine so," Jack said. "Lucian, we would like to try so more hypnotherapy on you. Perhaps if you could tell us what Cassius looked like, or really anything else about him, we might be able to locate him through magics."

"No problem," Lucian said. Though he wasn't too particularly comfortable with the notion of more hypnotherapy, he wanted to do everything he could to help. After all, he was practically useless otherwise.

"Now, once again, we'd just like to say: be careful. If Cassius did kill Rebecca, than it's likely he'll at least try to strike again. Everyone be on your guard," Giles said, looking in the eyes of each person gathered around the room.

"Nothing like mortal danger to bring people together," Xander joked, breaking the tense air that was stifling the room. "So who wants some pizza?"

........................................

Once the Scooby meeting was over, Cordelia snuck out of the house. She hopped into Angel's convertible and put it in reverse, backing out of Joyce's driveway. Angel had called her an hour ago from the road. He was driving up with Gunn in Gunn's truck to collect both the convertible and Cordelia. Though Cordelia hadn't protested at the time, she didn't want to leave Sunnydale. The first time she had left, she had every reason in the world to leave. Now, however, she couldn't think of one.

She loved the L.A. crew more than anything in the world, but she felt something different when she was with Lucian, something she had never felt before. It was like they had known each other since the beginning of time. Pulling the car into a parking lot near the Bronze, she shut it off and waited. A couple of minutes later, she saw headlights enter the parking lot. Gunn's truck pulled up next to the convertible. Angel and Gunn hopped out, walking over to Cordelia as she got out of the car.

"Thank God, it's in one piece," Angel muttered.

"I heard that," Cordelia said, handing the keys over to him. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"You know how it is," Angel said, looking down at the ground. Cordelia simply stared at him.

"I don't think she knows, bro," Gunn said, smirking.

"It's just...with Buffy and Faith, I'm not entirely comfortable seeing them together," Angel explained.

"You still have feelings for Buffy," Cordelia stated.

"Yeah," Angel said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I always will. Anyway, I've got enough guilt and pain plaguing my mind. I don't need to see them together. It'll only add more."

"Fair enough," Cordelia said.

"Alright, so, you ready to go?" Angel asked, smiling as he ran his hand over the convertible.

"He really loves that car too much," Gunn muttered. Cordelia looked over at him and chuckled to herself.

"About that," she said, her face instantly turning serious. "I can't go back with you."

Angel and Gunn both looked up at her in surprise. "What? Why?" Angel asked.

"I just have to stay here. The Powers gave me that vision for a reason," she argued.

"Yeah, to bring Lucian here. Not to stay and battle it out," Gunn countered.

"It doesn't just end there. Lucian trusts me. I have to stay," Cordelia said. "Look, once this is all over, I'll be right back in L.A. I promise."

"We need you too, Cordy," Angel said. "How're we gonna know who to help without your visions?"

"I don't think there's gonna be any visions for a while, Angel," Cordelia said. "One of the Powers is dead, the other is a psycho killer, and the third can't remember anything about who he was. I doubt Cassius is going to send me a vision any time soon," Cordelia said. She had explained the entire situation to Angel over the phone when he called earlier that evening.

Angel sighed and studied her face for a moment. "Okay, but listen, if you need any help, just call us. We're not far," he said seriously.

"And what? You'll send Wes and Gunn? You'd have to see Buffy and Faith if you came all the way up here again," Cordelia said smirking as Angel shifted on his feet.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Seriously, keep in touch."

"I will," Cordelia said. Then she did something neither Gunn nor Angel expected. Moving forward, she quickly pulled them both into tight hugs, and stepped away. "I'll see you guys later."

Cordelia watched as Angel and Gunn got into their respective vehicles and drove away. She sighed, then fished out her cell phone, and called Joyce's house. Once she secured a ride from Buffy and Faith, she sat down on the curb outside the Bronze and waited. She didn't know why, but she had the strangest feeling that she wouldn't see Angel or Gunn again. Shaking off the gloom that had settled on her, she watched as smiling, happy people walked into the Bronze. She would have to take Lucian there someday soon, provided she could sneak him out of the house.

"Hey. You ready?" Buffy called out to Cordelia, walking down the alley toward her.

"Yeah," Cordelia said, rising to her feet. Looking up at the moon, she smiled. "I'm ready."


	11. Arrivals

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Sorry for the delay, I've been really busy. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

Despite Callum's personal discomfort, he was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. At least one hurdle was out of the way; he was now officially on his way to Sunnydale, well, Los Angeles at least. What he was going to do once he got to Sunnydale, however, he had yet to figure out.

Chapter Ten:

Callum stepped off the plane and looked up into the bright California sky. "Never thought I'd see this again," he said to himself. Smiling, he closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face. Then, he started walking. LAX was much bigger than he imagined it would be; however, he had only been in one airport in his life, the one in London, so a one terminal airport in the middle of nowhere would have looked huge to him. He found himself swept away in the crowd. However, unlike everyone else, he didn't have any luggage. Breezing through customs with a fake passport he bought from a drug dealer in London, he stepped outside and boarded a shuttle toward the rental car office.

"How may I help you, sir?" The woman behind the counter asked. Callum smiled and reached into his pocket.

"What can I get for a hundred dollars?" He asked, sliding the rumpled bills across the counter toward her. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have anything in your economic range," she said as politely as she could.

Callum sighed and grabbed the bills, slipping them back into his pocket. "Can I call for a cab then?" He asked in defeat. The woman nodded. Picking up the phone receiver, he dialed the cab company. Five minutes later, he was standing outside of the rental car office with his hands in his pockets waiting.

"I really hope I don't have to steal another car," he muttered to himself. After a short wait, the cab pulled up. Callum opened the door and hopped in, closing it behind him. Scrunching up his nose, he repressed a gag at the overwhelming scent of onions purveying the vehicle.

"Where to?" The cabbie asked, looking back at him in the rearview mirror. Callum froze, suddenly realizing that he had nowhere to go. He didn't have enough money to make it all the way to Sunnydale and he didn't have enough money to buy a bus ticket. He suddenly remembered that Kara had talked about a friend of Spike's who had lived in Los Angeles for a time, helping the helpless.

"Angel," Callum said suddenly, remembering the name of the infamous vampire with a soul.

"What?" The cabbie asked in surprise.

"Nothing," Callum replied. "Take me to the Hyperion Hotel."

...........................................

"Hey," Kara said, walking into the Magic Box. Willow and Anya were the only people present. The store had just opened and, despite the longing stare Anya was throwing at the door, no one had come in yet.

"Hey," Anya replied, sighing and resting her head on her hands. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Kara said, shrugging indifferently. "So, Willow, how's the locator spell going?" Kara said, quickly changing the topic. Anya looked over at her in surprise. Kara had never brushed her off before. After Christmas, she and the future slayer had become quite close, frequently having lunch together. In fact, she and Xander usually came to Kara and Kennedy's house for dinner every Friday night. Anya frowned, realizing that tomorrow was Friday and Kara hadn't mentioned anything about it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Anya insisted, standing up straight and regarding Kara carefully. Kara looked over at her.

"I'm fine. Since when do you care?" Kara shot back. Then, turning her attention back to the red headed, she smiled. "So?"

Willow looked up from the book she was reading and returned the smile, not noticing when it instantly faded from Kara's face once she looked back down. "I've almost figured it out. Just a little more research and we'll be there. I'm thinking Tara and I will perform it tonight after dinner."

"Oh yeah? You guys need any help?" Kara asked, moving over to the table Willow was sitting at. Anya watched her closely. Kara seemed to move differently, like a predator moving in for the kill.

"No, I think we got it under control. We're just gonna order some Chinese at the dorm, do the spell. Shouldn't be a big thing. We'll call you guys once it's done," Willow responded offhandedly.

"Sounds great," Kara said, licking her lips slightly. Then, turning on her heel, she smiled widely at Anya. She knew that Tara had classes until late that night and Willow usually spent her time studying alone in the dorm room. "Well, I'm off. See you guys later," she said and strolled out of the shop.

"Does she seem different to you?" Anya asked, watching Kara leave. Willow looked up.

"Not really," she said, shrugging.

Anya sighed. "Maybe it's just me."

.............................................

"Thanks," Callum said, handing about half of his money over to the cabbie through the taxi window. Stepping back onto the curb, he looked up at the Hyperion Hotel. It was starting to get dark. He imagined that Angel would be up and about by now. He racked his brain, trying to remember the names of the people in the L.A. crew. Kara used to tell him stories about these people late at night when she couldn't sleep. She would lay there, thinking he was asleep, and talk about all of the heroes from her childhood. But he never slept, he always just laid there, desperately trying to keep his breath even, and relishing the feel of her skin underneath his fingertips. He never imagined he could be so lucky.

Sighing, he realized that even though he was alive again, everything that had happened to him was just a dream. Kara had moved on, found love with someone else. He knew he shouldn't be angry with her; after all, he had died and all of that. But still, he couldn't help the lingering pain that pierced his heart in the quiet little moments when he least expected it. Pulling open the door to the hotel, he stepped inside. The lobby was empty. Walking in, he listened as his footsteps echoed throughout the room.

"Hello?" He asked, his voice seemingly booming.

"Yeah?" A quiet voice asked, coming out from behind the counter. A mousy looking woman was standing there, her hair pulled back with glasses on. Callum smiled.

"I'm looking for Angel," he said, moving forward.

"Of course," Fred said, laughing slightly. "I'll just go get him for you."

"Get who?" Angel asked, stepping out of the elevator. Callum looked over at him. He was dressed in black from head to toe, which he remembered Kara describing as the man's signature look.

"I'm looking for you, actually," Callum said, extending his hand. "My name's Callum."

"Pleasure, I'm Angel," Angel said, gripping Callum's hand tightly and giving it a firm shake. "How can I help you?"

"It's not necessarily how you can help me, but more like how you can help the world," Callum said, sliding his hands back into his pockets.

"What do you mean?"

"You've heard about the Powers that Be, right? How one of them killed another and the third one was sent here," Callum stated. "Well, a ship can't go straight without a rudder, you know. They had to pick someone to fill in the blanks."

Angel looked at Callum carefully, almost as if he thought the lanky Englishman standing in front of him was insane. "What are you talking about?"

Callum sighed. He remembered Kara liked to talk about Veronica, how enigmatically she always spoke. That vagueness made her seem more like a god than anything else. However, he didn't quite seem to be able to pull it off, at least not yet. "I'm the new Power and I need your help."


	12. Bound

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Sounds great," Kara said, licking her lips slightly. Then, turning on her heel, she smiled widely at Anya. She knew that Tara had classes until late that night and Willow usually spent her time studying alone in the dorm room. "Well, I'm off. See you guys later," she said and strolled out of the shop.

..........................

Callum sighed. He remembered Kara liked to talk about Veronica, how enigmatically she always spoke. That vagueness made her seem more like a god than anything else. However, he didn't quite seem to be able to pull it off, at least not yet. Looking at Angel, he said, "I'm the new Power and I need your help."

Chapter Eleven:

Jack sighed and stood, stretching his legs. Spread out in front of him on his dining room table was the report the Council and Coven jointly filed regarding the murder of Rebecca Hart. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to discover any fingerprints or other identifying marks that would have pointed them toward their killer. However, Jack was more certain than ever that Cassius was behind it. Had a simple street thug or robber murdered Rebecca, certainly the perpetuator would have left some clue. The murder was too perfect.

Several alarms bells rang off in Jack's head as he reviewed the material. Most importantly, there hadn't been a forced entry. Rebecca had invited her killer into her apartment. Based on that information, Jack could assume that Rebecca had known her killer, had some sort of relationship with the person, be it professional, friendly, or intimate. If Rebecca knew her killer, however, that meant that her killer was mostly likely either a member of the Coven or Council. That thought concerned Jack deeply, for it meant that someone on the inside was working with Cassius, or else had simply gone off the deep end. Either thought didn't particularly appeal to him.

"How's it going?" Margaret asked, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. Jack looked back at his wife and smiled.

"I'm not so sure we're going to figure this one out," he said honestly. "Nothing makes sense."

"How so?" Margaret prodded. "Sometimes it helps to brainstorm," she said.

"Rebecca invited her killer inside her apartment. Why would she do that if the person was a complete stranger?" Jack said.

"So she knew her killer," Margaret easily concluded.

"Exactly. But if she did, than her killer is someone we all know. Someone inside of the Council or inside of the Coven," Jack explained further.

"A mole," Margaret stated. "You think that Cassius has a spy?"

"If not a spy, at least someone doing his dirty work. With the control that Cassius can wield over people, whoever killed Rebecca might not even know he or she did it," Jack reasoned.

"And if that's the case, Cassius could take control of anyone," Margaret said, a shudder running through her body.

"We'll never be able to catch him," Jack said, sighing in defeat.

"Do you think he'll strike again?" Margaret asked, watching out of the dining room window as the sun began to sink below the horizon. It suddenly seemed very cold outside, despite the warm weather of summer, very bleak.

"Oh yes, I imagine he will."

..........................................

Angel watched Callum intently as he related his story to the group assembled before him, the entire L.A. crew, or at least, those who were actually in Los Angeles. Though Angel was inclined to believe the young man, he couldn't help but be cautious. "What happened then?" Angel asked as Callum paused.

"I woke up in a parking lot in London. There was an old man there, started talking to me. He said that 'they' had chosen me to be the next Power and that I had to go to Sunnydale."

"Why?" Wesley asked, leaning forward. The young man's story interested him immensely and he found himself being wrapped up in it.

"Apparently Cassius is there," Callum stated. "We have to stop him. If he kills Lucian than I'm all that's left between him and the world."

"He doesn't know that you've been called though," Angel argued.

"No, he doesn't. But that doesn't mean I should just sit back and watch as he picks everyone else off. I have to do something," Callum said vehemently. "I know you'd much rather stay here and forget any of this ever happened, believe me, so would I. But I care a great deal about the people in Sunnydale. My family's there. I'm not just going to let some deranged god pick them off one by one on some quest for the supreme power of the universe or whatever," Callum said.

"Neither are we," Angel finally said. "However, if we're gonna help you, you're gonna help us first."

"How so?" Callum asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

"There's a slime demon killing people by the docks. We have to take care of it before we leave. You help us out, we'll help you out," Angel said. "Deal?"

"Deal, but I should warn you, I'm not good with the fighting and violence," Callum said after a moment's thought.

"You're a god now, my friend," Wes said, smiling slightly. "Somehow I think you'll manage."

......................................

Willow was just starting to set up for the locator spell she and Tara would be doing later that night when someone knocked on her dorm room door. Glancing up at the door in surprise, she chuckled to herself and stood. Walking over to the door, she quickly fixed her hair, wanting at least to look presentable, and opened the door. "Hey," she said when she saw Kara standing out in the hallway. Kara smiled.

"Hey, mind if I come in for a second?" Kara asked. Willow opened the door further.

"Of course, you're always welcome here, you know that," Willow said. She waited until Kara had entered and then closed the door. "So what's up?"

"Giles wanted me to be here for the spell, you know, in case something happens," Kara said, making up an excuse. "Can't be too careful nowadays, what with Cassius about."

"Yeah," Willow said in agreement. "I still can't believe that Rebecca is dead. I mean, she was the sweetest person in the world. She didn't deserve that."

Kara simply nodded and forced a smile. "When are you expecting Tara?" She asked, changing the topic. Willow didn't seem to notice the sudden change. Kara wandered about the room, looking at the pictures on Willow's wall. Resting her hand on Willow's desk, she began absently tapping on the wood with her fingernails.

"Not for another hour or so," Willow answered, moving about the room and collecting candles. She deposited them on the floor and began setting them up. Kara's tapping broke the silence that had fallen over the room. Looking up, Willow noticed Kara was staring absently out of the window, deep in thought. "Hey, you okay?" She asked, rising to her feet and walking over to Kara.

Kara eyes shifted over to Willow instantly. The fog that had settled on them cleared and Kara smiled widely. "Never been better," she said. Willow eyed her warily. She hadn't given much thought to Anya's suspicions earlier, but now that she was alone with Kara, she could feel something different about the girl, something wrong. Her aura seemed clouded, everything about her being in turmoil. Nervous energy bounced off her, accentuated by the constant tapping of her fingernails on the desk.

"You sure?" Willow asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. Kara looked at her.

"You think you're so smart don't you, Willow?" Kara said, moving forward and grabbing the redheaded witch by the arm. The act caught Willow by surprise and when she tried to pull her arm away, she couldn't. "You've got your magics and you think the whole world revolves around you. Don't you understand? You're just a little girl. You've only been on this earth for a blink of an eye. I've been here forever," Kara said, her voice turning into a low hiss. Willow looked up into her friend's eyes and noticed they were black.

"What are you doing?" Willow asked, trying to keep her voice calm. She was trying to remember some sort of spell she could use to dislodge Kara, but nothing was coming to her. Her mind was blank and she was starting to panic.

"You want to know who killed Rebecca Hart? You want to find Cassius?" Kara asked, laughing.

"Yes," Willow replied. She watched as Kara drew a knife out of her jacket.

"I killed Rebecca Hart," Kara said, laughing as Willow's eyes widened in fear and disbelief. "And I'm Cassius." With a swift motion, Kara plunged the knife deep into Willow's stomach. The witch cried out and fell to her knees, clutching the wound. Blood ran over her hands and she looked up into Kara's eyes.

"They're going to figure you out," she said, her voice weak and thin. Then she collapsed and her eyes rolled back in her head.

"No, I don't think they will," Kara said, smiling to herself. Then, leaning down, she yanked the knife free and placed it back in her jacket. "Not before I kill them all."


	13. Enemy

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. They are much appreciated. I get that this story may seem a bit darker than the first and it will mostly likely continue that way. The thing about good versus evil is that sometimes evil wins. It wouldn't be interesting if the good guys always won.

Previously:

"I killed Rebecca Hart," Kara said, laughing as Willow's eyes widened in fear and disbelief. "And I'm Cassius." With a swift motion, Kara plunged the knife deep into Willow's stomach. The witch cried out and fell to her knees, clutching the wound. Blood ran over her hands and she looked up into Kara's eyes.

"They're going to figure you out," she said, her voice weak and thin. Then she collapsed and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Chapter Twelve:

"So why don't you want to go back to Sunnydale?" Callum asked as he walked with Angel through the sewers underneath Los Angeles. The others had broken off to expedite the search. A rogue sewer demon was terrorizing people at the docks and Angel had insisted that they take care of it before heading out.

"I never said I didn't want to go back," Angel countered. They hadn't found anything thus far, not even a clue as to where the demon was hiding. Angel hoped they would, he didn't like the idea of Gunn, Wes, and Fred going up against it by themselves. Though they were accomplished demon fighters, he worried about them. They were his family after all.

"You didn't have to say it, mate, it was written all over your face," Callum argued. "It's because of the slayer right?"

"Buffy?" Angel asked, looking over at Callum.

"No. Faith," Callum said, catching Angel's eye. Angel sighed and shifted the axe in his hand.

"The thing about having a tortured romance is that no one ever really understands it's not all that romantic. Imagine, a vampire and a slayer falling in love," Angel said, his eyes taking a far off look. "Who would have thought that would happen? Then one night of passion and I lose my soul. As much as people say sex doesn't make a relationship, when you can't have it, it sure does put a strain on things," Angel said.

"Then Buffy went off and found her great soul mate in Faith," Callum replied.

"And forgot all about me," Angel said lowly. "Buffy will grow old with Faith and they'll both die. But I won't. I have to live forever knowing that my soul mate chose someone else over me. At least Romeo and Juliet got to be together in the end, even if they both were dead."

Callum smiled sadly. "We have a lot more in common than you might think," he said.

"How so?" Angel asked. He sniffed the air, noticing that a foul smell was wafting down the tunnel from further up.

"I loved this girl, Kara. Got sent back here from the future with her and all that," Callum answered.

"And then you died," Angel said, filling in the blanks.

"And she moved on," Callum finished. "It's not as tortured as your situation. I may not live forever, but I'm going to be around for a long time, I imagine. She'll always live in my heart, even if someone else is living in hers."

Angel stopped and looked over at Callum, a new understanding shining in his eyes. "Sucks to be us, huh?" He said, smiling slightly. Callum nodded and laughed, the sound echoing throughout the sewer. It was quickly followed by a bellowing howl.

"What was that?" Callum asked, looking out into murky darkness in front of them.

"I think that's our demon," Angel said, lifting his axe. "Come on, let's kick some ass."

...................................

The house was empty and dark, the hallways silent. Kara stood in the threshold of the front door. Behind her, the night howled with murder and violence. She could smell blood on the air, on her hands. Looking down, she stared absently at the rivulets of red that settled in the lines on her palms. She couldn't seem to make her feet move forward. She could see the blinking red light of the answering machine just inside of the door, bearing news of pain and grief. Closing her eyes, she tried to stifle the myriad of feelings and sensations pulsing through her. Cassius was losing control.

She felt like something was pulling her apart. Every breath she drew pained her so much that she gasped and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Moving into the house, she slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it, allowing it to support her weight. She couldn't breathe. Sliding to the floor, her body started shaking. Cassius was starting to become frightened. His power was waning. Kara was starting to resurface in the corner of his mind. But she wasn't the girl he had imprisoned there; no, Kara was pissed.

"Enemy," she muttered, throwing her head back against the door. "Leave me alone!" She screamed out into the empty house. They would all be at the hospital now, gathered around Willow. Cassius had failed. The red haired witch lived on, despite everything. She was hooked up to machines breathing life into her, her mind waiting to reveal all it knew.

"Shut up, bitch!" Cassius yelled through Kara's voice, trying to push her back down. Kara was coming to the surface. Rising to her feet, Kara stumbled up the stairs and into the bathroom. She flipped on the light, squinting at its brightness. The light seemed to pierce through her eyes, reflecting every stain and blemish on her soul – stains that Cassius had put there.

She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing through her own eyes. "I won't let you hurt them again," she said lowly, her voice a harsh growl.

"You can't stop me," Cassius countered. Kara was weakening. She could feel her hold slipping on her mind. Anger boiled up through her veins and she screamed out in frustration, lashing her hand out at the mirror in front of her. The glass shattered around her, ripping through her skin.

Then there was silence. Cassius had won. Staring down at the girl's mutilated arm, he smiled to himself. "Don't try that again, bitch," he said. Reaching over, he yanked a piece of glass out of Kara's arm. Blood was flowing out of the cuts on her arm, swirling down the drain of the sink in a steady stream. It fascinated him. He wanted to see more.

Picking up a shard of glass, he ran it lengthwise down Kara's arm. He could feel her crying out in his mind for him to stop. "Stop?" He asked, laughing. "Only if you promise to be good." Silence greeted him and he smiled in triumph. "Good little bitch," he said and dropped the shard of glass. "Let's fix you up then, shall we?"

.....................................

"We have to find Cassius," Buffy said sternly. "That bastard's gotta pay."

"He will, B," Faith said, eyeing her wife warily. She could practically see the red reflecting in Buffy's eyes. Looking over at Giles, Faith realized that she wasn't the only one concerned that Buffy might do something incredibly rash.

"There's nothing we can do now, Buffy," Giles said slowly. "The best place for you to be is here with Willow. She needs your support now."

"But he's out there, Giles. Waiting. What happens if he goes after Faith next, or my mom, or Xander, or Dawn. I can't just sit here while he picks off all of the people I love," Buffy argued, tears of frustration stinging her eyes. Faith looked down. She couldn't stand to see Buffy in so much pain.

"I'm gonna go get some smokes," Faith said, walking away.

"I thought you quit?" Buffy called after her.

"I did," Faith yelled back. Stepping onto the elevator, she hit the lobby button and leaned back against the wall, running a hand through her long, dark hair. She hated feeling helpless. She knew exactly where Buffy was coming from. The slayer in her was calling out for her to find Cassius and slit his throat. But she couldn't do that. They didn't even know who Cassius was.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. She strode out purposefully, her feet automatically directing themselves toward the gift shop. Pulling some rumpled bills out of her pocket, she bought a pack of cigarettes. Slipping out of a side door, she lit one up and sat down on a concrete column. She relished the taste of the smoke as it filled her lungs, polluting the very core of her being. "Hey," she said, a fraction of a second after Buffy slipped out of the same door.

"Hey," Buffy said, sitting down next to her.

"You okay?" Faith asked, looking over at her.

"She just looks so fragile. And I can't help but think that could be any of us...it could be you. We can't stop him," Buffy said. Tears slid down her cheeks and Faith flicked the cigarette away. Wrapping her arms around Buffy, Faith pulled her into a tight embrace.

"We're going to figure this out, I promise. When we do, I'll let you kill him, okay?" Faith said, smiling as Buffy laughed into her shoulder.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Faith nodded slightly and rested her head against Buffy's, breathing in the vanilla scent of her hair. A chill air blew in the leaves of the trees and Faith suppressed a shudder. The night smelled like death.

.........................................

"You look kinda pale," Cordelia said, glancing over at Lucian.

"This my fault," Lucian muttered, looking down at his hands.

"What? No, it's not," Cordelia immediately insisted.

"If not for me, all of you would be fine," Lucian said angrily.

"If not for you we'd all be dead right now, Lucian. You think it would be better if Cassius had just killed you too? Bullshit," Cordelia argued back. "Veronica sent you here. You didn't have choice. We just have to make the best of it."

"Make the best of what? Death?" Lucian asked. "I can't do that."

Cordelia sighed and looked away. "It's not your fault," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I need to get some air," Lucian said, rising to his feet and taking off down the hallway. Cordelia looked back over at him in alarm.

"Lucian, wait!" She yelled after him, but he was gone. "Shit," she said and jumped to her feet. "Giles!" She yelled, rounding the corner where Giles had just been speaking with Buffy. The group was spread throughout the hospital wing, each person feeling the need to be alone.

"What?" Giles asked, looking up at Cordelia.

"Lucian just took off," she said.

"By himself?" Giles asked, jumping to his feet.

"Yeah, I don't know where he went," Cordelia said anxiously.

Giles placed a reassuring hand on her arm and sternly said, "We have to find Buffy and Faith. He can't be alone now. It's too dangerous."

...................................

Kara looked up into the sky as she walked toward Joyce's house. She needed information. Most importantly, she needed to know if Willow had woken up. She imagined that some of the gang would have left the hospital, seeing the futility of being there. Joyce and Dawn would be the first to leave, as they were the most useless. If Willow had woken up and told the group what happened, Kara couldn't show her face in the hospital. But if Willow hadn't, there was no reason why she couldn't go and pay her friend a visit. She stopped when she reached Joyce's front door. Knocking, she waited. The lights were off. After a few minutes without a response, she turned to leave, but saw someone walking down the street toward her.

"Hey," the person said, walking up the sidewalk. Kara smiled widely when his face was revealed by the light of the street lamp.

"Lucian."


	14. Lies and Revelations

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Hey," the person said, walking up the sidewalk. Kara smiled widely when his face was revealed by the light of the street lamp.

"Lucian."

Chapter Thirteen:

Faith smiled and slung her arm around Buffy's shoulders. Leaning over, she planted a kiss on the blonde slayer's cheek. "What was that for?" Buffy asked, smiling widely and looking over at her. Faith simply shrugged. The elevator doors slid open. They stepped out into the hallway and began walking back toward the wing where Willow was being treated.

"Faith!" Cordelia said, appearing in front of them suddenly. "Thank God," she muttered to herself. "We need your help."

"What's wrong?" Faith asked, instantly concerned.

"Is it Willow?" Buffy asked, moving away from Faith and wrapping her arms around herself. Faith looked over at her quickly, but Cordelia recaptured her attention with a simple word.

"Lucian," Cordelia said. "He's left the hospital."

"Alone?" Faith asked, alarmed.

"Yeah," Cordelia responded. "He was feeling guilty about what happened to Willow, which is perfectly understandable I guess, but he's going to get himself killed out there. We don't know where Cassius is," Cordelia said, her voice getting steadily higher as she worked herself up into a panic.

"Calm down, C," Faith said, laying a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I'll go find him."

"I'll go with you," Cordelia said, her face suddenly deadly serious.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, maybe B should go instead," Faith said, looking over at Buffy hopefully.

"I can't," Buffy said, unaware of the frustrated look on Faith's face at her response. "If Willow wakes up and I'm not here..."

"Fine, me and C will go," Faith said, turning and heading back toward the elevator.

"We'll be back soon," Cordelia shouted back over her shoulder at Buffy as she followed Faith down the hallway.

"Where should we look?" Faith asked, turning back to Cordelia as they waited for the elevator doors to open.

Cordelia thought for a moment, "Joyce's house," she said. "He likes it there; it's like home to him. Besides, Joyce has some whiskey in her kitchen cabinets. Lucian and I found it one night."

"You think he's gonna drown his sorrows?" Faith asked, smirking slightly. An alcoholic god was all they needed.

Cordelia smiled humorlessly. "Wouldn't you if you were him?"

....................................

"You know, Angel, when you said that we were after a sewer demon, I didn't think you meant a demon that could actually be misconstrued as a sewer," Callum said, wrinkling his nose at the disgusting smell wafting off him and his companion. After a rather lengthy and difficult battle with the sewer demon, they finally managed to kill it, only after it sprayed a noxiously fragranced spatter of an excremental substance on them.

"I thought sewer demon was pretty self explanatory," Angel said, shrugging slightly.

"Well when you've been around for two hundred some odd years, I'm sure you learn what exactly sewer demon means. I, however, have not had the pleasure of existing for such an ungodly amount of time," Callum argued. "And, thus, I'm a bit pissed at having been dragged onto this ridiculous adventure only to come out broken, bruised, bloodied, and smelling very much like shit."

"You Brits sure get long winded when you're angry," Angel responded, chuckling to himself as Callum snorted in frustration and stamped his foot slightly.

"Some people might take offense to that," Callum replied after a few moments. "But fortunately for you, I'm a benevolent god."

"Must be my lucky day," Angel retorted. "This is ours." Putting one muck-covered foot on the base of the ladder leading up through the sewers, Angel began to climb. Callum followed after him. Ripping open the manhole cover that led to an alley behind a bar, Angel stuck his head through the opening. The fresh air hit his face and he smiled slightly. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, relishing the scent of the night.

"What's the hold up?" Callum asked, his voice carrying up from down below. "It stinks down here and you're not making it any better. You're blocking all of the air."

"Just making sure it's safe," Angel lied. Hoisting himself onto the ground, he reached down and helped Callum up.

"Where are the others?" Callum asked, looking around at the vacant alley.

"They'll be here shortly. They were a little further away than us," Angel replied. He stood, his vampire sense alert, waiting for any sound of his friends.

"And we'll be leaving for Sunnydale now, right?" Callum asked, standing next to the souled vampire.

"No," Angel said.

"What do you mean?" Callum asked, looking over at him in surprise. "We had a deal."

Angel smiled. "If you don't mind," he said slowly, "I thought we'd head back to the hotel and get cleaned up first. But, if you want to drive all the way up to Sunnydale smelling like shit, be my guest. But you won't be riding with me."

Callum smirked and looked down at the ground, his face red with embarrassment at having doubted his new friend. "Alright. So showers first. Then off to the mouth of Hell."

......................................

After hotwiring a car in the hospital parking lot and driving it at breakneck speeds through the streets of Sunnydale, Faith and Cordelia arrived at Joyce's driveway. "I didn't know you could drive," Cordelia said, relinquishing her grip on the car seat. Her knuckles were white.

"I can't," Faith said, shutting off the car and hopping out onto the driveway. "That was entirely illegal," she said, smiling brilliantly.

"You're so going to jail one of these days," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes at the younger girl.

"Yeah," Faith snorted. "Me? Locked up in a tiny, little room all day? I don't think so. Not in this lifetime."

"The lights are on," Cordelia said, looking up at the house. "He must be inside."

"Now's a good a time as any to find out for sure," Faith said, walking up the sidewalk to the front door. As her hand reached out for the doorknob, she paused.

"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.

"Shh...," Faith said, glaring over at the seer. "Something's going on in there."

"What?" Cordelia whispered.

Faith leaned forward and pressed her ear against the door. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. Her eyes suddenly flew open and stepping back, she kicked the door in. Wood splintered around them and Cordelia covered her face. She and Faith rushed into the house and stopped dead at the sight in front of them. "What are you doing?" Faith asked in disbelief.

Kara turned and looked back at her, a wicked smile covering her face. She had a bloodied knife in her hands. Lucian was tied to a chair in front of her, his head lolled back slightly and his eyes half open. "Help me," he croaked out, blood bubbling over his lips from a cut on the inside of his mouth.

"I'm just having a little fun," Kara said, turning around fully. "I think I inherited this, yeah? The thing about knives," she said, eyeing the blade in her hand appreciatively.

"Kara? Why are you doing this? You know what'll happen if he dies," Cordelia said as she and Faith inched forward into the room.

"Yeah, I do," Kara said. "You really aren't the brightest crayons in the box are you?"

"Cassius," Faith suddenly spat, realizing all at once that Kara was no longer in the body standing before her. Her daughter's eyes always had a certain sparkle to them. But the eyes of the girl standing in front of her were dull and lifeless.

"The one and only," Kara said, twirling the knife around her fingers. "Now, if you don't mind, I was in the middle of something," she said, turning back around. Faith took that opportunity to charge, tackling Kara from behind. They fell forward onto the ground in a heap. Faith was on her feet before Kara. Using that to her advantage, she grabbed Kara from behind, wrapping her arm around the girl's neck and pressing her knee into her spine.

"C, get some rope," Faith ground out, struggling as Kara bucked wildly, trying to get free. Taking the knife, Kara dragged it across Faith's arm. Faith cried out, watching as blood spilled out from the wound, but she didn't loosen her grip. Cordelia reappeared with a pair of handcuffs.

"Where did you get those?" Faith asked, looking at the cuffs in surprise.

"They were in Spike's weapons chest," Cordelia said. "I don't think we want to know."

Faith nodded her agreement as she dragged Kara over to another chair. Sitting the girl down, they cuffed her hands behind her back so she couldn't move. Ripping off the sleeve of her already ruined shirt, Faith bound Kara's mouth to keep her from talking. "Check on him," Faith said, motioning to Lucian as she did so.

"I'm okay," Lucian said as Cordelia released him. "Just a little knocked around."

"I'll get the first aid kit," Cordelia said, disappearing into the hallway bathroom. She reappeared a few moments later and began patching up Lucian.

Faith watched her for a moment before looking back at Kara. The girl was staring at her, murder in her eyes. "I'll call the others."


	15. Dreams

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Sorry for the long delay, but my internet has been down for a very long time. I'm posting this when I can, so bear with me, please.

Previously:

Faith nodded her agreement as she dragged Kara over to another chair. Sitting the girl down, they cuffed her hands behind her back so she couldn't move. Ripping off the sleeve of her already ruined shirt, Faith bound Kara's mouth to keep her from talking. "Check on him," Faith said, motioning to Lucian as she did so.

Chapter 14:

They were almost halfway to Sunnydale. Angel had the convertible top down and the wind whipped through the car. Callum thought his face was going numb. Though they had talked a little in the beginning of the trip, the conversation had faded into a pleasant silence. Callum could feel his eyes starting to droop and leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. Blackness greeted him and lulled him into a comfortable sleep. At first, he didn't dream. The darkness around him embraced him and rocked him in a gentle sway. But soon, images began to creep into his subconscious.

He could see Kara tied to a chair in the living room of Joyce Summers' house. She had blood dribbling down her chin from a cut on her lip. Callum instantly recognized Cassius within her, hatred pouring out of her eyes from the blackness of his soul. Faith was there as well, pacing back and forth in the hallway by the front door. She was waiting for something or someone, perhaps. Moving through the house like a phantom, he pushed open the kitchen doors. Cordelia and Lucian were sitting at the island counter, each gripping a cup of steaming tea. Despite his injuries, Lucian seemed to be in good spirits. He was lucky to be alive.

Callum looked intently at Cordelia. A strange light enveloped her in a golden hue. He didn't know why, but it didn't seem natural to him. Though he hadn't heard much about her, he seemed to know her entire life story. He knew there was a reason why he was in that house with her. Something was clawing at the edge of his mind, something important, and something he needed to tell her. Cordelia Chase was an emissary of the Powers that Be. She had visions that told of events that would happen in the not too distant future, events that needed to be changed.

"Let me see," Callum muttered to himself. The room around him shifted and suddenly, he was standing in a hospital room. In front of him, Willow was lying on a bed, wires and tubes coming out of her. Tara was sitting next to her, gripping her hand tightly. Willow, though always pale, looked far paler than usual. She had lost a good deal of blood. At the moment, she was unconscious, but Callum could see her slowly beginning to wake up.

Willow's eyes fluttered open. "Hey," Tara said, leaning forward at once and brushing a strand of her red hair out of her eyes. "How do you feel?"

Willow turned her head and looked over at her lover, smiling slightly. "I can't feel anything," she said slowly, her voice slightly slurred.

"That's the painkillers," Tara said, her voice low and steady. Her eyes were puffy from crying and Callum could see that she was using all of her strength not to break down in front of Willow.

"Oh," Willow said. She laced her fingers around Tara's, squeezing gently. "I don't feel so good."

"You're gonna be fine," Tara swore, gently running her hand through Willow's hair. "The doctors are doing everything they can. You're in good hands."

Callum frowned. Moving over to the other side of Willow's bed, he leaned over and rested his hand against her forehead. She was bleeding internally. "Hang on," he whispered, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I've got you."

"What is it?" Tara asked, noticing a sudden change in Willow's demeanor. It was as if someone else was with them. Willow turned her head and looked toward the other side of the bed, smiling slightly.

"I know," Willow said.

"Get some rest, okay?" Tara said, smiling when Willow turned back in her direction. "You need your strength."

"She's right, you know," Callum muttered. "Go to sleep."

"Okay, I will," Willow whispered, closing her eyes again. "Callum."

Tara looked up at her in surprise, then glancing about the room. "Callum?" She asked, suddenly feeling the presence of another person in the room. Callum walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense and he smiled. "She's gonna be just fine."

Suddenly, Callum was standing back in Joyce's kitchen. "That was weird," he muttered to himself, ignoring a wave of dizziness that passed through him. Walking over to Cordelia, he leaned over and whispered in her ear. Then he woke up, bolting up in his seat in Angel's car.

"Hey, you okay?" Angel asked, looking over at him in concern.

Callum nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'm fine."

................................

Cordelia could feel the vision coming just before it hit. Grabbing her head, she cried out and fell to the kitchen floor. Lucian was at her side in an instant, holding her as she struggled against the pain. "Faith!" He yelled. Faith burst into the room moments later.

"What is it?" Faith asked, rushing over to them.

"She's having a vision," Lucian replied. Cordelia's cries quieted and she stopped struggling in his embrace. "Cor? You okay?"

Cordelia's eyes fluttered open and she took several deep breaths. "Something's wrong with Willow," she said.

"What?" Faith asked.

"She's bleeding internally. Her doctors missed it. She's going to bleed to death if they don't fix it," Cordelia replied.

Faith leapt to her feet and raced out into the hallway, grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed the hospital's number, demanding to speak to Willow's doctor. Then she handed the phone off to Cordelia, who could better explain the situation. "You think they'll be able to stop it in time?" Lucian asked, moving over to Faith.

"I hope so," Faith said. She knew losing Willow would crush Buffy. They were pulled out of their thoughts by the sound of the front door opening.

"Uh, Faith? Why is Kara tied up in the living room?" Buffy called from the front foyer.

"You didn't tell them?" Lucian asked, looking over at her.

"It's a little hard to explain," Faith said as she and Lucian walked out into the hallway. Xander, Anya, Giles, Joyce, Spike, Dawn, and Buffy were gathered there, staring into the living room.

"She's not Kara anymore, is she?" Anya said, watching as Faith and Lucian walked toward them.

"No, she's not," Faith said, sighing deeply.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Spike asked in confusion.

"She attacked me," Lucian explained. "Except it's not really her, it's Cassius."

"Wait, Cassius stole her body?" Buffy asked, dread sinking into her stomach.

"Yeah," Faith replied.

The room was completely silent, each person thinking about the ramifications of what had happened. Xander finally spoke up, "Well, how do we get her back?"


	16. Becoming

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: The internet is working a little better. Thanks for hanging in there.

Previously:

"Wait, Cassius stole her body?" Buffy asked, dread sinking into her stomach.

"Yeah," Faith replied.

The room was completely silent, each person thinking about the ramifications of what had happened. Xander finally spoke up, "Well, how do we get her back?"

Chapter Fifteen:

"You're angry with me, aren't you?" Lucian asked, looking at Cordelia out of the corner of his eye. They were sitting on the back steps, enjoying the clear summer night. The moon shone directly above them, casting its warm glow down upon them. Above them, the stars twinkled in billions of tiny dots, shining like the reflection of the moon on the sea.

"Why do you say that?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, you're not really saying all that much. No offense, but it _is_ rather difficult to get you to shut your mouth sometimes," Lucian said, smiling slightly. Cordelia laughed.

"If I wasn't angry with you before, I am now," she said, playfully pushing Lucian's shoulder.

"So, you are angry with me then?"

Cordelia sighed and absently ran a hand through her hair, straightening her tangled, brown locks. "Yeah," she finally said, after a moment's thought.

"Why?" Lucian asked, turning to face her.

"Do you have any idea how stupid running off like that was?" Cordelia said, looking over at him. He could see how tired she was, how the burden of her anxiety over his safety had drained her strength. "Cassius could have killed you. He very nearly did. If Faith and I hadn't gotten here when we did...," Cordelia said, trailing off at the end.

"I'd be dead right now," Lucian finished for her, nodding his head solemnly. "I know."

"Than why did you leave the hospital?" Cordelia asked angrily.

"I just freaked out," Lucian explained, sighing. "I know that what happened to Willow was Cassius' fault. But it wouldn't have happened if not for me. It's just so hard, knowing that there's someone out there who wants to kill me, and knowing that I can't remember why."

"Well don't do it again," Cordelia admonished.

"I won't. I promise," Lucian said sincerely. Cordelia eyed him skeptically for a moment before smiling slightly. "You look really tired," Lucian said, noticing how she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"It's been a long day," Cordelia answered, breaking out a big yawn. Lucian smiled.

"Come here," he said, pulling Cordelia over to him. He leaned back against the side of the house as she lay against his chest, resting her head just above his heart. She could feel it beating through the material of his shirt. Sighing contently, she closed her eyes and surrendered to sleep.

...................................

Giles quickly shut the doors leading from the living room into the front foyer and locked them. Then he turned around to face Kara, rather, Cassius in Kara's body. Faith and Buffy were the only others in the room. The rest of the Scooby Gang was spread throughout the house. As far as he knew, Cordelia and Lucian were in the backyard. Joyce, Dawn, and Spike were in the kitchen, while Xander and Anya waited in the dining room. They had vowed that no one would leave until Cassius had cracked.

"Where shall we start?" Giles asked offhandedly.

"I'm never going to tell you anything," Kara said defiantly. "You should know that. I'm a god. What are you? A watcher? And I'm supposed to be afraid of you?"

"You _are_ the one handcuffed to a chair," Buffy pointed out.

"When I got out of here, I'm going to kill you all," Kara sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

"How do we get her back?" Faith asked, moving forward slightly. Kara looked over at her and smiled.

"You can't," Cassius said through Kara's voice. "I'm in control of her. You don't have the power to release her. No one does."

"Lucian could release her," Giles said thoughtfully. "If you have the power, than so does he."

"True. But, the last time I checked, Lucian couldn't use his powers," Kara pointed out. "So, if I were you, I'd be real nice to me right about now because I can make sure you never see your daughter again," Cassius spat, looking over at Faith.

"If you kill her, I'll kill you," Faith said, leaning forward and resting her hands on either armrest of the chair. "If I do that, Lucian will be the ultimate power in the universe. Not you," Faith said, smiling wickedly.

Cassius glared up at her through Kara's eyes. "You stupid bitch," she said, her voice low enough for only Faith and Buffy to hear. "Don't you understand? Everyone you love will die. One by one, I'll kill them all. Starting with your precious Buffy," Kara spat. "That is, if she doesn't wake up and realize what a mistake she's made before then. Honestly, do you really think she loves you? She's so much better than you – smarter, prettier. Last time I checked, Buffy wasn't the one who went psycho and tried to kill everyone. How long do you think you can keep this charade going?"

"Shut up," Faith ground out, her voice a low growl. Her eyes darkened and Kara smiled.

"One day you'll just snap, like you always do. You're not a fighter, Faith. You're a loser. You run away when things get tough. Sure, life may seem pretty damn good right now. But that's not going to last. Then you'll run like you always do and leave everyone heart broken and miserable. That's what you're good at Faith, hurting people. You're nothing. You always will be. You may be nice piece of ass, but that's all. A worthless, fucking whore," Kara said.

Faith had lashed out and struck Kara across the face before she even realized that she had moved. Giles moved forward and laid a hand on Faith's shoulder, effectively snapping her back into reality. "It's okay," Giles said soothingly. Faith shook his hand off her shoulder and looked at Kara. She was smiling up at Faith, blood sprayed across her cheek from the ring on Faith's hand.

Faith had slipped out of the room before Buffy or Giles could stop her. Ripping open the front door, Faith stepped outside and slammed it shut behind her. The world seemed to be closing in around her and she couldn't breathe. Her hands were shaking at her sides and clenching them, she raised her fists. Kara's blood shined wet on the ring on her left hand, her wedding band. Faith looked down at it, staring at it for what seemed like hours. She had sworn to herself that she would never hit any of her children – that she would never become the person her mother had. Yet, she had just struck Kara, lashing out at her in violence like her own mother had done, time and time again.

Faith could feel tears of anger stinging her eyes. Wiping them away roughly, she tried to check the growing emptiness and rage that began to spread throughout her body, but found that she couldn't. Letting out a guttural cry, she sprang into the night, running as fast as her legs could carry her – running from her past and running from what she was afraid to become. The night swallowed her and all the remained was the gentle motion of the air in her wake.


	17. Arrivals

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

Faith had lashed out and struck Kara across the face before she even realized that she had moved. Giles moved forward and laid a hand on Faith's shoulder, effectively snapping her back into reality. "It's okay," Giles said soothingly. Faith shook his hand off her shoulder and looked at Kara. She was smiling up at Faith, blood sprayed across her cheek from the ring on Faith's hand.

Chapter Sixteen:

"I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to go in there," Buffy said, laying a halting hand on Kennedy's arm. Kennedy had just arrived at the Summers residence, after successfully completing a rather long and involved patrol with Jack and a slayer he was training for shipment to Japan. She had smudges of dirt on her cheeks from being knocked into the mud at the cemetery and her hair was tussled and tangled. She had arrived home only to hear several disconcerting messages on her answering machine, most notably, that her girlfriend's body had been taken over by Cassius.

"How long has he been in her?" Kennedy asked, peering into the living room through the cracked door.

"We don't know. He hasn't said anything useful; he just threatens anyone who goes in there," Buffy answered.

"Great," Kennedy said. "I could have been sleeping with the enemy."

"You couldn't have known," Buffy said consolingly.

"But I should have. She's my girlfriend and I didn't even notice that she wasn't really there? That a deranged, lunatic god with a hard on for global destruction was the one making her talk and move and...," Kennedy trailed off, not entirely comfortable talking about her sex life with her girlfriend's mother. Buffy appeared entirely grateful.

"None of us realized what was going on...except maybe Anya," Buffy said thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe the rest of us should have. But he was damn convincing. Besides, we don't know how long he's been in her body. It could have happened tonight."

"Or it could've happened months ago. Either way, I need to talk to him," Kennedy said, shrugging off Buffy's hand, which was still lying on her arm, and moving forward into the room. She closed the door gently behind her, watching Kara's eyes the entire time. They followed her as she moved into the room. Looking deeply into them, Kara could see an overwhelming emptiness that Kara had never possessed.

"Cassius," Kennedy said coolly, stopping in front of the handcuffed girl.

"Kennedy," Cassius said back, speaking through Kara's voice. "Be a doll and let me out of here would ya?"

Kennedy smiled sadly. "Sorry, but I know all about you now," she said. With a sigh, she lowered herself onto the floor and sat there. "How long have you been in her?"

"Long enough," Cassius said, "to figure all of you out. I understand now why she goes home with you every night. Forgive me, but before I met you, I thought you were a whiny, self-involved bitch. I still think all of those things, don't get me wrong, but you surely can do incredible things with your tongue. I see why Kara puts up with you now," Cassius said, smiling as pain flashed through Kennedy's eyes. The younger slayer quickly covered her vulnerability, a mask of stone settling onto her face.

"Why didn't you just kill Lucian?" Kennedy asked, her curiosity fueling her questions. She heard that Cassius had tied Lucian up to a chair, torturing him, before attempting to kill him. In that time, Faith and Cordelia were able to save the fallen god.

"My ego got the best of me, I'm afraid," Cassius said, smiling slightly through Kara's lips. "I've never liked that little ponce. Of course, Veronica thought he was an angel because of what he did. She was a fool."

"What he did?" Kennedy asked, not quite following the story.

"In order to become one of the Powers that Be, you must die performing an act of good. Lucian lived back in the days when Rome was the center of the world. He saved a group of children from a gang of vampires, though the vampires eventually overcame him and killed him. A little while later, there was a vacancy and he became a Power. Veronica always liked him better because he saved a bunch of kids. I saved more people than he did, but Lucian always got all the credit."

"You were jealous," Kennedy said, smiling.

Cassius glared at her through Kara's eyes. "Just a bit," he ground out.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Kennedy asked. "The others say you haven't opened your mouth to tell them anything useful."

Cassius stopped and thought for a moment, realizing perhaps for the first time, that he had been revealing too much to the girl in front of him. He wondered how he had let that happen. But he knew, deep down inside of his being, he knew. Kara had loosened his lips, made him speak more than he would have liked. "Seems your girlfriend is a little more cunning than I previously thought," Cassius growled out.

Kennedy smiled. "So she's still in there somewhere," she stated. "I had thought you would be smarter than to tell me that."

Cassius lunged forward in Kara's body, straining against the handcuffs. Blood dripped down from Kara's hands as the cuffs bit into her skin. Kennedy had to stop herself from rushing forward. "Stop wagging your tongue before I rip it out," he threatened. "I've always wondered, if Callum was still alive, would Kara pick you or him? She loved him, you know. With every fiber of her being, she loved him. She doesn't really love you, though. You're convenient. You're a warm body to sleep next to. But she doesn't really like you all that much. I mean, who could?" Cassius sneered. However, Kennedy didn't react.

Leaning forward, Kennedy placed a gentle kiss on Kara's forehead and whispered, "We'll get you back somehow." Then she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Cassius staring after her in a mixture of wonder and hate.

..............................

Angel nudged Callum awake when they passed the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. "We're here," he said softly, his voice low and reserved. Callum looked over at the souled vampire. He looked troubled somehow, as if coming back to this place burdened his very being.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Callum said. "You can just drop me off."

"Someone's got to look after you," Angel said, smiling over at him slightly. "For all we know, Lucian may be dead already."

"No, he's alive," Callum said positively. Angel looked over at him with an eyebrow cocked.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"I dreamt it," Callum replied. "I saw him sitting in Joyce's kitchen with Cordelia. He's alive. But Cassius has taken control of Kara's body."

"How do we get him out?" Angel asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Callum said uncertainly. "But I have a feeling it'll come to me at the right moment."

Angel smirked. "You're starting to sound more and more like a god as we go," he said. "You're getting rather vague."

Callum laughed. Angel turned onto the street where Buffy used to live with a heavy heart. He could see her house up ahead, the lights twinkling in the dead of night. The rest of the houses on the street were dark and ominous, but the Summers residence was alive with activity. "Looks like we're here," Angel said, pulling into the driveway.

"Thanks, for everything," Callum said sincerely as they got out of the car and strode up to the front door.

"That's what I'm here for," Angel replied, knocking swiftly. The door opened an instant later, revealing Buffy.

"Hey," Buffy said, surprised to see Angel. She was expecting Faith, or least hoping for Faith. Looking over at her ex-boyfriend's companion, her mouth dropped open. "Callum?" She asked, the words squeaking out of her throat.

Callum smiled awkwardly and nodded his head. "The one and only," he replied.

"I thought you were dead," Buffy said, opening the door for the two men. They stepped inside and she closed the door, warding off the night.

"Funny thing that," Callum said. "I came back. Seems I'm one of the Powers that Be now."

"Wow," Buffy said, obviously impressed. "Should I be bowing to you or something," she said, laughter in her eyes. Callum frowned in mock anger, then smiled brightly.

"No, but you can show me where Kara is," he said seriously. "I have some work to do."


	18. Memories in Fermentation

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Review and make me a happy writer, please!!! Thanks.

Previously:

"Funny thing that," Callum said. "I came back. Seems I'm one of the Powers that Be now."

"Wow," Buffy said, obviously impressed. "Should I be bowing to you or something," she said, laughter in her eyes. Callum frowned in mock anger, then smiled brightly.

"No, but you can show me where Kara is," he said seriously. "I have some work to do."

Chapter Seventeen:

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Buffy asked, sidling up to Angel as Callum and Giles entered the room where Kara was being held captive.

"Sure," the vampire said, following Buffy outside and onto the front porch. "What's up?"

Buffy closed the door behind them and shoved her hands into the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt. It was muggy outside and she instantly felt suffocated in her jacket, despite the frigid, air-conditioned environment she had abandoned. "It's Faith," she said, her eyes not quite meeting her ex-love's.

"What do you mean?"

"She took off a little while ago and she seemed pretty upset. I'm worried about her, but I can't leave Kara, not if Callum can help her. I should be here when she's back to her old self," Buffy said. "I was hoping you could look for Faith."

Angel sighed and resisted the urge to throw his hands up in frustration. It was bad enough having to see Buffy without being able to express his feelings for her. But to have to chase her wife all over Sunnydale and drag her back home was beyond his call of duty. "Fine," he said as cheerily as he could. "I'll bring her back."

"Thanks," Buffy said, smiling brightly. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem," Angel lied. Buffy nodded and went back inside the house, leaving Angel standing out on the porch alone. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned and started walking down the street. He didn't know Faith that well, his most notable encounter with her involving a poisoned arrow. From what he had heard, she had changed quite drastically since then. Still, he wasn't entirely comfortable around her. Despite this, he was confident he knew the best place in town to look for an upset, recovering psychotic vampire slayer – a very loud, very crowded, and very smoky bar.

.............................

"Want another?" The bartender asked, moving over to Faith. She nodded and he poured a stream of amber liquid into her empty glass. Once he moved away again, Faith picked it up with a still trembling hand and tossed it back. The liquid burned in her throat and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. Images played on the backs of her eyelids, haunted memories of a life she so desperately wanted to forget.

It was pitch black. The dark was so thick it felt like water surrounding her and pulling her under. For a second, she thought she couldn't breathe. Then a small light crept through under the closet door. Faith backed away from the light, gathering herself into a tight, little ball in a corner of the closet where the light couldn't touch her. She could hear someone moving about inside of the apartment. From the sound of the footsteps, she assumed it was her mother. The clang of keys hitting the kitchen table reverberated through the empty room. It sounded like a jackhammer to her small ears.

"Faith!" She heard her mother's harsh voice yell. Faith rested her head on her knees, letting her dark hair fall in front of her face, shielding her. She hardly dared to breathe for fear that her mother would hear. Faith didn't want to be found tonight.

"Where are you? Get your ass out here right now!" Her mother yelled. Faith had been a very bad girl. It was nearly ten o'clock at night and she hadn't eaten since the morning of the previous day. Tired of waiting for her mother to get home from work, she decided to make herself a meager meal of crackers and grape juice. However, with her clumsy five-year old's hands, she accidentally spilled the juice on the already stained carpet. She knew her mother would see it.

The closet door suddenly sprang open. Squinting her eyes from the harsh light of the uncovered bulb dangling from the ceiling, Faith looked up at her mother's angry face. "Get outta there, you stupid, little bitch. Did you think I wouldn't see it?" The mother growled angrily, grabbing Faith by the arm. Her fingernails bit into the skin on her arm and Faith struggled to pull away. She could see a shadow pass over the light and then her mother's hand came down hard on her face.

"Hey," Angel said, sitting down next to Faith. Faith jerked in her seat and looked over at him, pulled out of her reverie. "How's it going?"

Faith blinked several times. "What are you doing here?" She finally asked.

"Buffy asked me to come bring you back home," Angel replied candidly. "So here I am."

"You sound so enthused," Faith murmured, motioning for the bartender.

"Are you sure you haven't had enough?" Angel asked.

"I'm a slayer, with slayer metabolism, it'll take a lot more than this to get me drunk," Faith said, throwing back another shot. "You want one? I'm buying," Faith said, slapping some bills down on the counter. Angel considered for a moment. "Come on. You're sitting in a bar with the _chick_ that stole your true love away. Now, I'm buying, so drink up."

Angel looked over at Faith for a moment before smiling slightly. "If you insist," he said. The bartender came over and poured two more shots for Angel and Faith. "To true love," Angel said raising his glass. Faith smirked and nodded.

"I can drink to that," she said, smiling widely as Angel grimaced when the alcohol hit the back of his throat. "Don't worry," she said, nudging his shoulder with hers, "you'll get used to it in a couple of hours."

...........................

"Well, well. This is a surprise," Cassius said through Kara's voice. "Kara will be so excited. Oh wait, no she won't. She's into women now," Cassius said, sneering.

"I suppose that works on some people," Callum said, smiling graciously. "But, I've decided that I don't particularly like you. So I'm pretty much going to ignore anything you say."

"Brilliant," Cassius said. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"I think I'm just smarter than you," Callum replied. He pulled a chair up in front of Callum and sat down, resting his palms on his legs.

"What are you doing?" Cassius asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm going to help her," Callum said.

"How do you propose to do that?" Cassius asked.

Callum leaned forward and smiled. "We're not so different you and I."

"I don't know how you got back here, but I assure you, we're quite different. I'm a god," Cassius growled.

"And so I am," Callum replied. Then he reached out and pressed his hand to Kara's forehead. A bright light exploded through the room. Buffy rushed in when she saw the light. It faded and Callum sat in front of Kara, who was blinking wildly. Looking around the room, Kara's eyes settled on Callum.

"Am I dead?" She asked.

"No, you're very much alive. And so am I," Callum said. "Can we get the cuffs off her please?" He asked, looking over at Giles, who had been standing silently in the corner for the entire exchange.

"Of course," Giles said, moving forward.

"What's going on?" Kara asked in confusion. "Why am I handcuffed?"

"You don't remember anything?" Buffy asked, kneeling down beside her and taking her hand in hers.

Kara shook her head. "No."


	19. Darkest before Dawn

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"What's going on?" Kara asked in confusion. "Why am I handcuffed?"

"You don't remember anything?" Buffy asked, kneeling down beside her and taking her hand in hers.

Kara shook her head. "No."

Chapter Eighteen:

Kennedy silently watched as Buffy and Callum filled Kara in on all of the events of the passed several weeks. Just minutes ago, Willow had woken up in the hospital and informed Tara that Kara had been her attacker. Tara immediately called to relay the news. Buffy and Callum were now in the process of gently telling Kara that she had stabbed Willow and nearly killed her. Kennedy watched as her girlfriend's eyes filled up with tears. Callum pulled her into his arms and she cried against his chest. Kennedy felt her heart constrict.

Kara had loved Callum deeply. Death had been the only thing able to separate them and now that Callum was alive again, Kennedy was afraid she would lose the woman she had grown to love more than anything. Sighing, she turned and walked into the kitchen, where Joyce, Dawn, and Spike were waiting. "I'm going to head out for a while, I'll be back later," she said, grabbing her gym bag.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't Kara want to see you?" Dawn asked, wondering why Kennedy was taking off.

Kennedy smiled sadly for a moment, her eyes unfocused. "No, I don't think she will," she said and then slipped out of the back door.

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked as she watched Kennedy slip away into the predawn light of the early morning.

Spike watched her as well, a grim look on his face. "She thinks Kara won't want her anymore now that Callum is back," Spike answered.

"That's ridiculous...isn't it?" Dawn asked, looking at her mother and boyfriend.

Joyce smiled and pushed back out of her chair, heading over to the kitchen sink to wash out some mugs. "I don't know," she said. "I guess we'll find out."

...............................

Faith and Angel burst out of the bar laughing hysterically, though neither of them could remember what was so particularly hilarious. It was nearly dawn and gray light spilled over the horizon. "We better get you home," Faith said, as she and Angel both leaned on each other for support. "B will kill me if I drag you home as a crispy critter." They had spent the better part of the evening ruthlessly engaged in a competition to see who could hold more alcohol. Though Faith had won, neither of them really cared by the end of the evening. They were too drunk to care about much more than trying to walk without tripping over themselves, or each other.

"I think she's going to be angry anyway," Angel replied, with a goofy grin perpetually plastered on his face.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Faith asked, her speech more than a little slurred.

"I was supposed to bring you back, remember?" Angel said. "I really didn't do that."

"No, you really didn't," Faith said, laughing a bit. "You're in trouble," she mocked.

"So are you," Angel shot back. Faith stopped laughing.

"Damn, I probably am," she muttered. She stopped walking suddenly, her face looking a little green. "I don't feel so good."

Angel held her hair back as she vomited into a gutter, heaves wracking her body. "You're okay," he muttered softly. "I've got you."

Faith leaned back against him once she had finished. "I don't wanna walk anymore," she said lowly, her eyes partially closed. Angel smiled and in one swift motion, picked Faith up. She rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I think I've got a solution for that," he said and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. Then he started walking back to Joyce's house, carrying Faith. He reached the front door just as the sun was starting to peak over the horizon. He knocked quickly and the door flew open.

"Hey," Callum said, ushering Angel in. "Cutting it close, are we?"

"I lost track of time," Angel muttered sheepishly, now nearly sober from the walk and the slight fear that he might not make it there on time.

"Obviously," Callum smirked. Then he looked at Faith. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she passed out on the way home. We got a little drunk," Angel said shrugging. "Where should I put her?"

"Upstairs. Buffy was waiting all night, but she just went to sleep an hour ago," Callum replied. Angel nodded and carried Faith up the stairs. He reached Buffy's bedroom door and paused. He hadn't known Faith very well before he came back to Sunnydale, however, after spending the night talking and drinking with her, he felt as if he had grown much closer to the once renegade slayer. Any doubts he had about her love for Buffy had been quashed. Though he would always love the blonde slayer, he wanted her to be happy. He knew she would be happy with Faith.

He quietly pushed open the door and stepped inside of the room. It was dark inside. Buffy had pulled the curtains across the window and the lights were off. Nevertheless, Angel could see perfectly in the dark. He quickly walked over to the bed where Buffy was lying and deposited Faith next to her. Then, he vanished from the room and closed the door behind him. Faith stirred slightly and rolled over, pressing the length of her body against Buffy's back. She rested her head in the crook of Buffy's neck and smiled slightly when the older girl moved back against her, snuggling closer. Faith opened her eyes and looked around the room. It was morning, she could tell from the light filtering in through she shades, but only darkness greeted her eyes.

..............................

Spike sat down heavily next to Kara and offered her one of his cigarettes. She silently took one and lit it with Spike's lighter. "Didn't think you smoked, pet," Spike said, lighting up one for himself.

Kara shrugged. "Seems like a good a time as any to start," she muttered.

"You know, none of this is your fault. Cassius made you do everything," Spike pointed out. Kara had disappeared into the basement shortly after Buffy and Callum had finished talking to her. She hadn't come up since and though everyone was worried about her, only Spike had the courage to go down to talk to her. The others didn't want to upset her any further.

"It was still me though," Kara replied. "Every time Willow sees me now, she's going to see the person who stabbed her."

"She'll get over that," Spike said. "She knows what happened now, Tara filled her in."

"What about Faith? Apparently, I said some pretty shitty things to her. She hasn't come back yet. She won't even be able to look at me when she does," Kara said dejectedly. She took a drag off the cigarette and inhaled the smoke deeply. It filled her lungs and she suppressed the urge to cough. Grimacing, she pressed the cigarette out against the wall.

Spike chuckled to himself and wrapped his arm around Kara. She leaned into him and closed her eyes, letting the silence wash over her. "Things are gonna be okay," Spike finally said. "Yeah, things will be awkward for a while. But they'll go back to normal soon enough."

"Thanks," Kara said, looking up at him.

"For what?" He asked.

"Everyone else is afraid of me. They're afraid to look at me, afraid to talk to me, afraid I might break if they say the wrong thing. Thanks for not acting weird around me," Kara replied, smiling slightly when Spike did.

"No problem," he said. "So what do you think about Callum being back?"

"I don't know," Kara replied. "It's kinda weird. I mean, he's been dead all this time. Now he's one of the Powers that Be. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

Spike shrugged. "I don't rightly know," he said, his voice sad. "Kennedy ducked out a while ago," he added.

Kara looked up at him suddenly. "Kennedy was here?" She asked. "Why didn't she come to see me?"

"I don't think she was so sure you wanted to see her," Spike said.

"What do you mean?"

"She's afraid you'll leave her for Callum," Spike replied bluntly. Kara sighed in frustration and stood up, pacing slightly.

"Did she go home?" She asked, turning back to Spike. He nodded. "I don't think I can see her," Kara said softly.

"Why not?" Spike asked.

"She must be disgusted by me. How can she still want to be with me when Cassius slept with her in my body?"

"You're really not getting this are you?" Spike asked, walking over to her. "Everyone understands that it wasn't you, Kara. Why can't you understand that?"

Kara's eyes sparkled with tears as she looked up at Spike. "I don't know," she admitted, her voice slightly strangled.

Spike pulled her into a hug. "Go see her, pet. She needs you right now and I have a feeling you need her too."

Kara nodded against his chest and pulled away, quickly wiping her eyes. "I'll be back later," she said and ran up the stairs. Spike watched her go and dropped his cigarette on the floor, stamping it out with his shoe. The tip flared red for a moment before dying.


	20. The Ruins

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Sorry for the delay. My semester ends in like two weeks, so I'm swamped with lots of projects and papers. Plus, I'm going out of town this weekend, so don't expect another update until Sunday, most likely. Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming. This chapter is probably going to be shorter than the others, but I don't have a whole lot of time at the moment.

Previously:

Spike pulled her into a hug. "Go see her, pet. She needs you right now and I have a feeling you need her too."

Kara nodded against his chest and pulled away, quickly wiping her eyes. "I'll be back later," she said and ran up the stairs. Spike watched her go and dropped his cigarette on the floor, stamping it out with his shoe. The tip flared red for a moment before dying.

Chapter Nineteen:

Kara took a deep breath, holding her hand out in front of her. The key shook between her trembling fingers as she slid it into the lock of the front door of the house she shared with Kennedy. The door slid open and she stepped inside. It was dark in the house. The sunlight filtered in through half shaded windows, casting long shadows on the hard wood floors. Kara couldn't hear any sounds of life coming from within the house, though she imagined Kennedy was probably asleep.

Turning, Kara closed the door behind her with the hand that was gingerly holding a bouquet of red roses. It had been a last minute decision – the flowers – but she wanted to show Kennedy that her heart still belonged to her, not to Callum. On the walk home, Kara had prepared a long speech, but she knew in the end, Kennedy would believe actions instead of words. Words could often be deceitful, said in the moment, or said to persuade without genuine feeling. However, actions took more effort. A deceit with an action had to be calculated. Kara had told lies to people she loved, but she rarely acted against the people she loved.

Turning, Kara slowly mounted the stairs, her footsteps falling softly on the wood. Only her slayer hearing picked up the sound, so lightly she stepped. Finally, she stood at the top of the stairs. Her palms were sweating, but she didn't know why. She felt like she had done something wrong, something terrible to Kennedy. Cassius had invaded her body and used it to invade Kennedy's. Though Kara knew she should be enraged at Cassius, she couldn't help but feel guilty as well. Moving forward, she reached their bedroom door.

The door hung slightly ajar. Looking in through the narrow crack, Kara could see that the room was dark. The lights were off and the shades were drawn shut. From what Joyce had told her, Kennedy had waited for most of the night at Buffy's old house. She was probably asleep now. "Are you going to stand out there forever, or are you going to come in?" Kennedy's voice called out, startling Kara.

Kara sighed in embarrassment, her cheeks flaming red, and pushed open the door. "Hey," she said softly, lingering at the threshold of the door.

"Whatcha got there?" Kennedy asked, sitting up in bed. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders, slightly tousled, and the crimson, silk sheets on the bed pool around her waist. Kara forced herself to look away and down at the flowers.

"I brought you flowers," she said finally. Kennedy smiled widely.

"Are you going to bring them to me, or are you going to make me come get them?" Kennedy asked, smirking as Kara blushed again.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to come in," she mumbled.

"I do," Kennedy said, her eyes shining sincerely. Kara looked up and held her gaze for a moment before nodding. Walking forward, she paused next to the bed and thrust the flowers forward awkwardly. Kennedy took them and held them up to her nose, inhaling deeply.

"They smell incredible," she said, looking up at Kara again. Reaching out her hand, she waited for Kara to take it. The distance between Kennedy and herself seemed liked miles from where Kara stood. She desperately wanted to bury herself in Kennedy's embrace, but she held herself back. "Please sit next to me," Kennedy said, her voice pleading.

Kara reached out and took Kennedy's hand, allowing the other girl to pull her down onto the bed. "I'm sorry," Kara said, looking down at her shoes. "For what Cassius did to you."

"It's not your fault," Kennedy said. "I should have known it wasn't you."

"There was no way you could have known," Kara said vehemently.

"And there was no way you could have stopped it," Kennedy said, smiling. Kara smiled back slightly, knowing Kennedy had caught her in her own logic. The room fell silent for a moment and Kara could feel Kennedy struggling with herself. Finally, Kennedy spoke. "So, Callum's back."

"Yeah," Kara said, looking down at their entwined hands. "He is."

"How do you feel about that?" Kennedy asked. Kara could hear fear in her voice, though Kennedy tried to mask it.

"If I wanted to be with Callum again, don't you think I would be?" Kara asked, looking over at her girlfriend. "But I'm not. I'm here with you. I love you, Ken, nothing is going to change that." Kennedy was silent for a long time. It was starting to freak Kara out, but then she heard a small sniffling noise. "You're not crying are you?" Kara asked, looking over at her in surprise.

"No," Kennedy instantly said. "Of course not."

"Yes, you totally are," Kara said, smiling as Kennedy began grumbling to herself. "You're so beautiful," Kara said suddenly, reaching out and wiping Kennedy's tears of joy away.

Kennedy looked up at her with her eyes shining and smiled. "I love you so much," she said, leaning forward and capturing Kara's lips in a smoldering kiss.

……………………………………….

Buffy groaned and rolled over, surprised to find that when she did, the bed was cold and empty beside her. Sitting up, she looked around the darkened room. "Faith?" She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm here," Faith said from her seat in the corner. Buffy looked up and saw her, sitting on a chair in the corner in the dark with her legs tucked under her body.

"You okay?" Buffy asked, slipping out from under the covers and padding over to her wife.

"Five by five," Faith muttered absently. Alarm bells went off in Buffy's head.

"Which is the universal signal that something is incredibly wrong," Buffy said, kneeling down in front of Faith and resting her hands on her knees.

"Nothing's wrong," Faith insisted, looking down at her. Buffy sat silently for a long time, watching her wife stare at the floor absently.

"Please talk to me," Buffy said softly. Faith almost didn't hear it, but caught the words as they slid passed her ear.

"I don't know if I can," Faith said after a long pause. Her voice was low and thick with emotion. Buffy could feel grief pouring off her, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

"Baby, tell me what to do," Buffy said, sitting up on her heels and taking Faith's face in her hands. "Tell me what to do."

Faith shook her head slightly, with tears streaming down her face. She didn't seem to notice them. Buffy's heart broke for her. "Just hold me," Faith finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Buffy quickly gathered the other girl in her arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back as Faith silently sobbed into her chest. Closing her eyes, Buffy let a single tear course down her cheek.


	21. Back to the Beginning

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming.

Previously:

Faith shook her head slightly, with tears streaming down her face. She didn't seem to notice them. Buffy's heart broke for her. "Just hold me," Faith finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Buffy quickly gathered the other girl in her arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back as Faith silently sobbed into her chest. Closing her eyes, Buffy let a single tear course down her cheek.

Chapter Twenty:

Cassius awoke to find himself lying on his back on soft, green grass in one of Sunnydale's many parks. The sky was blue above him and white, puffy clouds rolled passed. He laid there for a long time, watching the slow passing of the sky, as the sun failed and began to fade. He wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten there, but he knew he was no longer in Kara's body. Blinking away the haze that had settled on his mind, he retraced the events of the last several days.

In Kara's body, he had stabbed Willow, one of the Coven's most powerful witches. However, the witch had survived. Shortly after, he had been given an opportunity to kill Lucian, but squandered it. Faith and Cordelia had stopped him and held him captive. After that, things got strangely blurry in his mind. He remembered that someone came and expelled him from Kara's body, but he couldn't remember who had done it. However, he knew that the only person with the power to do so was one of the Powers that Be and Lucian had yet to discover his abilities.

"That's right, a new Power has been called," a voice said from his left. Cassius sat up and brushed the grass off his sleeves.

"Who might you be?" Cassius asked. Squinting his eyes and lifting a hand to block the light of the dying sun, Cassius saw a tall, youthful man standing in front of him with bright, green eyes.

"A friend, if you desire one," the man said and moved closer, until he was standing only a few inches away from Cassius. Then he extended his hand to help Cassius up. Cassius accepted his hand and let the man pull him to his feet. "Seems like your little plan isn't going so well," the man commented, smirking as Cassius eyed him warily.

"What do you know of it?" Cassius asked, instantly taking a dislike to the man.

"More than you would suspect. I know everything that happens here and everywhere else. I've always wanted to meet one of you, one of the Powers that Be," he said, smiling warmly.

"You seem to know quite a bit about me, yet I know nothing of you," Cassius replied. "A name, perhaps, might facilitate my trust."

"Of course," the man said. "But which name shall I give you? I have many, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yes, but I suppose you should call me Lucifer," the man said, smiling as Cassius' eyes widened in recognition. "I have an interest in what you're trying to do here. I thought perhaps you could use my help."

"And what would your help require in return?" Cassius asked.

"An alliance between the Powers that Be and darkness would be powerful indeed. Perhaps, you could use a partner," Lucifer suggested, smiling widely when Cassius nodded.

"I accept your offer," Cassius said, knowing in his heart that he had no other choice.

"Good. Come, we have much to talk about," Lucifer said, walking passed Cassius. Cassius watched him go for a moment before walking after him, feeling a cold dread seep into his heart. This was not what he wanted.

……………………………

"I'm worried about her," Buffy said, sitting down at the kitchen table with Kara. "She hasn't said anything. She just sits in the dark staring out the window like there's something there I can't see. I don't know what to do for her."

"Maybe I should talk to her," Kara said, as she sat a peeled potato down in the bowl sitting in front of her. She and Buffy were helping Joyce prepare that evening's supper, as the group was meeting again to discuss their next move in regard to Cassius.

"I don't know if that will do much good," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders. "But it's worth a try if you want to."

Kara nodded and pushed out of her chair. Walking out of the kitchen, she ascended the stairs and stopped just outside of Buffy's old bedroom, where Faith had been sitting for most of the day. Kara knocked softly, but Faith didn't respond. Pushing open the door, Kara frowned when she saw Faith sitting by the window in the dark. "Okay, seriously, enough is enough," Kara muttered under her breath and flipped on the light.

"What are you doing here?" Faith asked, without looking over at her.

"I wanted to talk to you," Kara replied, moving over to the window and sitting across from Faith. "Buffy says you aren't doing so well."

"Is it that obvious?" Faith sarcastically asked. Looking down at her hands, she whispered, "I hit you."

"You didn't hit me, you hit Cassius," Kara replied, reaching over and taking one of Faith's hands in her own.

"It was still you. You were in there somewhere. I promised myself that I would never be like my mother. Guess I'm more like her than I thought," Faith said, laughing mirthlessly.

Kara sighed and looked out of the window. "I never really got a chance to know you or Buffy in my old world," she said, her voice taking a distant quality, as it did whenever she talked about the future she had came back from. "But I remember that when I was with you both, I never felt more loved. You and Buffy were like idols to me. I had this photograph of you both for a while. I used to look at it all the time, trace over your faces with my fingers. Somehow it made me feel like you were there even when you weren't."

"I guess what I'm trying to say," Kara said, looking up at Faith, who was watching her intently, "is that you're nothing like you think you are. You have this idea that you'll always be the psycho slayer with a troubled past. You think that you'll never overcome it. But the thing is, Faith, you already have. You just can't see it."

Faith sighed and leaned forward, resting her head against the glass. "I haven't overcome it yet. There's still one more thing I have to do," she whispered.

"What?" Kara asked curiously.

"I have to go back," Faith said, looking over at Kara. "I haven't been back there since I left. I need to go back and put it all to rest."

"You should. We'll be fine here," Kara said. "But you shouldn't go alone."

"Why not?" Faith asked.

"For one thing, it's not safe. Secondly, you and Buffy are in it for the long haul. She should be there. She feels so helpless not knowing what to do for you. Maybe going there with you would help," Kara suggested.

Faith nodded absently. "Okay, I leave as soon as I can with Buffy. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm going back to Boston."


	22. Coyotes and Airplanes

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

"For one thing, it's not safe. Secondly, you and Buffy are in it for the long haul. She should be there. She feels so helpless not knowing what to do for you. Maybe going there with you would help," Kara suggested.

Faith nodded absently. "Okay, I leave as soon as I can with Buffy. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm going back to Boston."

Chapter Twenty-One:

"Are you sure you can do this?" Buffy asked, her eyes shining seriously in the fluorescent airport lights.

"Yes," Dawn sighed melodramatically. "I'm totally fine with this. Spike and I will have everything under control. No one will even know that you guys are gone. Besides, we have Kara, Kennedy, and whatever slayers are in town now to help us out."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want Kara and Kennedy to have to slay right now. I think they need time to reconnect without a third person jumbled in the mix," Buffy said, slinging her carry on bag over her shoulder.

"All passengers remaining for flight 739 to Boston may now board," a voice said, cloaked in static, over the intercom system.

"You ready," Buffy asked, looking over at Faith, who was still sitting on one the hard, plastic airport chairs. "Faith?"

"Yeah?" Faith asked, ripped out of her thoughts. She looked up at Buffy. "What's up?"

"They just called us," Buffy said, smiling patiently down at Faith. She knew her wife was incredibly nervous about going home.

"Oh, okay. Let's go then," Faith said, dragging herself to her feet.

"Take care of yourselves," Dawn said, wrapping Faith and Buffy in a giant hug. Joyce stood a little back, watching with a slight smirk on her face.

"Don't crush them now, Dawnie," she said, stepping forward and embracing Faith once Dawn had released her. Then she embraced Buffy in turn and gently whispered in her ear, "Take care of her," she said, in reference to Faith.

"I will," Buffy whispered back. Reaching over, she grabbed Faith's cold and clammy hand and pulled her toward the departure gate.

"This is a bad idea," Faith muttered under her breath as Buffy handed their tickets to the airline representative.

"No, it isn't," Buffy replied. Her slayer hearing allowed her to hear most of what Faith probably hadn't meant for her to hear.

"We'll see when we get there," Faith replied. They boarded the plane and stowed their carry on bags under the seats in front of them. "Gonna be a long flight," Faith commented.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. She looked over at Faith, who was as white as a ghost. "You've never flown before, have you?" She asked, suddenly realizing what a great deal of Faith's anxiety was about.

"Not so much," Faith replied, clutching onto her arm rests as the plane began to roll backwards, preparing to depart. "Something about flying through the air at a great rate of speed just doesn't do it for me."

"I think I know something that might," Buffy whispered, leaning over and gently kissing Faith's exposed neck. She ran her teeth over the sensitive skin just below Faith's ear and smiled as Faith sucked in a ragged breath.

"Yeah, what's that?" Faith asked, her voice shaky from excitement and nerves.

"Ever heard of the mile high club?"

………………………………

"You know, 'Bit, I don't think you should be out here," Spike said as he and Dawn walked through one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. It had been several hours since Buffy and Faith's plane left and, as promised, Dawn was out on patrol.

"Buffy asked me to," Dawn replied smugly, finally having approval from her sister to do something violent to the demon population.

"Buffy has other things on her mind," Spike countered. "Like keeping Faith from going over the deep end again."

"Faith is just fine," Dawn said. "Shouldn't you be sniffing out vampires or something, Spike? Not a slayer, remember? Pretty much relying on you here."

Spike rolled his eyes and looked around. "There's nothing out here," he said confidently. "We should just go home."

"Not until we stake at least one vampire," Dawn replied. "Besides, it's nice out tonight."

"We're in California, love," Spike said, "it's nice every night."

Dawn was about to reply when they heard a low growl from behind them. "What was that?" She asked, instantly clutching onto Spike's arm.

"Not so tough now, are we?" Spike smirked. Then he focused on the noise. "Could just be a coyote."

"Yeah, that's likely," Dawn said sarcastically. "Since when has there ever been a coyote in Sunnydale. It's always a werewolf, or a vampires, or some weird furry, demon with big fangs, and nasty breath."

"You know, I'm beginning to think you have a thing against vampires and demons," Spike commented. "I don't hear anything else."

"Of course I have a thing against vampires and demons," Dawn replied. "They're evil."

"Oh really?" Spike said, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Okay, all vampires and demons except for you and Angel," she said. "Happy now?"

"Yeah," Spike replied rather jovially. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"We are not going home!" Dawn replied, a bit more forcefully. As if startled by her voice, something in the bushes next to them moved, causing the leaves to shake. A growl sounded out through the night again and both Spike and Dawn froze.

"Alright," Spike said, stepping in front of Dawn and pulling out a stake. "Come on out and show me what you got." The bushes in front of them stilled and the night became silent again. Spike stood there for several moments waiting, before lowering his stake. "Bloody coward," he muttered to himself. Just as he was about to turn back to Dawn, a large, black shape darted out of the bushes, running at him.

The creature leapt into the air and knocked Spike to the ground. The vampire and the creature rolled a couple of feet before they came to a stop. Leaping to his feet, Spike growled. The creature moved away. "Uh, Spike?" Dawn said, watching the scene first with an expression of surprise, horror, and, finally, amusement.

"Now's not the best time," Spike replied, moving closer. The creature moved farther away.

"I don't think we need to worry about him, Spike," Dawn replied.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, looking over at her.

"It's a coyote," Dawn said, her eyes shining with laughter. Spike looked down at the rather terrified coyote cowering by a gravestone. "I think he's afraid of vampires," Dawn said, laughing as Spike faked a lunge at the coyote, causing it to turn, tuck tail, and run as fast as it could out into the night.

"Come on," Dawn said. "Let's go home. You're right, there's nothing out tonight." Dawn linked her arm with Spike's and together, they began walking home. Once they were out of sight, a man stepped out from behind a mausoleum.

Lucifer smiled and watched them walk away. "That's not entirely true," he whispered and faded back into the shadows.


	23. Reflections in stone

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. She looked over at Faith, who was as white as a ghost. "You've never flown before, have you?" She asked, suddenly realizing what a great deal of Faith's anxiety was about.

"Not so much," Faith replied, clutching onto her arm rests as the plane began to roll backwards, preparing to depart. "Something about flying through the air at a great rate of speed just doesn't do it for me."

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Faith looked over to see Buffy sleeping peacefully in the seat next to her. Smiling, she reached over almost reverently and tucked a strand of her partner's golden hair behind her ear. Then, she slowly withdrew her hand and rested it in her lap. She was sitting next to the window. Just outside of the airplane, all that separated her from heaven was rushing passed. Before people knew about astronomy and had ever been into space, they had thought that heaven rested just above the clouds. On those clouds, angels would frolic and play with harps, dressed in long, white robes.

Faith had believed that when she was a child. She would sit on the curb outside of her apartment, look up at the white, puffy clouds overhead, and squint her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the golden reflection of an angel's harp. She never saw anything, but she didn't give up hope, not for a long time, not until hope gave up on her. Faith sighed and rested her head against the plastic window of the airplane. It was cold from the air outside and Faith could feel the vibrations of the plane's engines through the plastic. A gentle hum floated into her ears and when she clenched her teeth, they chattered slightly.

Closing her eyes, the light of the cabin instantly dimmed beneath the blackness of her eyelids. She had been nervous when the plane was taking off, but with Buffy's help, she had calmed considerably. While she still looked around anxiously whenever the plane hit a slight bump, she felt comfortable enough to try to sleep. She could feel herself moving forward, ever moving towards Boston and her old life. While she knew she had to go there to move on finally, she knew it would be difficult for her to rest her feet on those familiar streets.

Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would go back there. But, here she was, flying in an airplane with her life partner, the only person in the world she had ever loved, and the only person she thought would hate her until the day she died. Faith's life, despite its highs and lows, proved that even the unexpected could happen in deeply profound ways. Faith felt her body relax, exhausted from the stress of the previous couple of days, but her mind was still racing a mile a minute.

Opening her eyes, Faith sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any sleep. The plane was dark, the only lights in the cabin those of the reading lamps. A movie had been playing a couple of hours earlier, some family friendly flick about a lost dog that somehow saved the world. Faith paid little attention to it, though her eyes rested on the screen. They would be arriving in Boston early in the morning. It was night outside and all Faith could see through the window was darkness rolling by perpetually. The rest of the people on the plane seemed to have little difficulty finding the sleep that so eluded Faith at that moment. Faith looked out the window again, losing herself in the oblivion. Her eyes filled with darkness and she was taken back to a place she seldom ventured.

Faith sat on her bed, reading a tattered history book. She was lying on her stomach, with her legs propped up against the wall behind her. Her bedroom window was open and she could hear the sounds of police sirens wafting in from down the street. A never-ending parade of sirens called to her at night, emergency vehicles rushing up and down the street. While the sound should have aggravated her, she found it relaxing. It was so familiar to her that she missed it when it wasn't there.

The apartment was dark and empty. Only Faith's bedroom light was on, illuminating the space in front of her. Shadows fell across her book and she found her eyes straining to read. Her stomach growled loudly. She was in the fourth grade and she was one of the best students in her school. Unlike the other kids, who hung out on the street corners, playing, and following around the older kids, Faith liked to stay inside. She could lose herself in her history books for hours, reading about the lives of people that had gone before her and all of the amazing things they had done. She wanted to be like them.

A key turned in the lock and broke the silence. Faith looked up and saw, through her bedroom door, her mother enter the apartment. She looked tired. Dropping her keys on the table next to the door and her purse in a corner, she disappeared from view. Faith could hear her rummaging about in the kitchen. The familiar pop and hiss of a beer can opening resonated through the silent rooms. Faith turned her attention back to the book in front of her.

"Faith," her mother said, suddenly appearing in the doorframe of her room. Faith looked up.

"Yeah?" She asked, her voice small and soft.

"I thought I told you to buy milk after school," her mother said, stepping into the room.

"I didn't have enough money," Faith replied, flipping her book closed.

"Don't fuck around with me, kid," her mother replied. "When I tell you to do something, I damn well expect it to get done, understand?" Faith nodded. "Come here," her mother said, beckoning her over. Faith slid off the bed and walked over.

Faith felt the sting of her mother's open palm connecting with the side of her face before she knew what had happened. She toppled to the floor and reached up, tentatively touching her face. She could taste blood in her mouth. "Maybe you'll listen to me the next time, you little shit," her mother said and turned on her heel, storming out.

Faith blinked back tears and crawled back onto her bed, curling up, and clutching her book tightly against her chest. "Okay, mommy," she whispered silently, her words lost in the night.

"Faith?" Buffy said, looking over at the dark slayer.

"Yeah?" Faith asked, snapping out of her daydream.

"You okay? I've been saying your name for like the passed five minutes," Buffy said, laying a concerned hand on her arm and stifling a yawn. Faith looked over at her and smiled tightly.

"I'm fine," she murmured, she voice just as small and lost as it had been all of those years before. "We'll be there in a couple of hours," Faith commented. "You slept through the movie."

"Was it any good?" Buffy asked, sliding her hand down Faith's arm and grasping her hand.

"I don't know. I didn't watch it," Faith replied absently, looking back out of the window.

"Why don't you try to go to sleep?" Buffy suggested.

"Can't," Faith said. "I just want to think for a while," she replied, leaning her forehead against the airplane window again. Buffy nodded and squeezed Faith's hand.

"I'll be here," she said. Faith smiled slightly.

"I know."


	24. Checkmate and Poker Chips

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Sorry for the lack of updates. This was my finals week, so I've been studying my brains out. But the semester is over now, so I'll be updating more regularly. Enjoy.

Previously:

"Why don't you try to go to sleep?" Buffy suggested.

"Can't," Faith said. "I just want to think for a while," she replied, leaning her forehead against the airplane window again. Buffy nodded and squeezed Faith's hand.

"I'll be here," she said. Faith smiled slightly.

"I know."

Chapter Twenty-Three:

"This town really is dead tonight," Kara commented as she and Kennedy strolled through the graveyard. While Dawn and Spike had reported little activity, other than an over zealous coyote on their patrol, the two slayers still felt obligated to take a spin around the cemetery.

"Maybe the demon population has finally figured out that with so many slayers around, Sunnydale isn't the demon tourist attraction it used to be," Kennedy replied, absently playing with her stake.

"Let's swing by mansion row, there's usually some action up there," Kara said as they began walking toward the cemetery entrance. A strange howl pierced the night as the reached the gates and they stopped dead in their tracks.

"If that's a coyote…," Kennedy said, abruptly turning and looking back. "Shit," she muttered suddenly and Kara looked back at her.

"What?" She asked, turning as well, only to find that several yards behind them, the cemetery was crawling with hellhounds. "Where did they come from? This place was totally empty like thirty seconds ago."

"They're _hell_hounds, I thought it would be fairly obvious where they came from," a voice in front of them said. Turning, they saw a man standing before them, dressed in black slacks and a button up, black shirt. His eyes were bright green and a slight smiled tugged at his lips.

"Who are you?" Kennedy demanded, instantly falling into slayer mode, and stepping slightly in front of Kara, who could entirely handle herself, though Kennedy still felt some primal urge to protect her.

"I've seen you before," Kara said suddenly, her eyes widening in recognition. "In the future."

"That's right," the man said, smiling widely to reveal perfectly white teeth. "That was quite a world you came from. It took me a long time to get things right and then the Powers had to go and send you back."

"Who is this guy?" Kennedy whispered over to Kara.

"I'm pretty sure he's the devil," Kara whispered back, watching as Kennedy's face turned ashen.

"As in _the_ devil?" She asked, looking back at him suspiciously.

"The one and only," Lucifer replied. "You did such a good job at preventing the ruin of the world when the First came, I thought I'd come down here personally to congratulate you. That, and create a little havoc of my own."

"So you're the one that orchestrated Veronica's murder," Kara stated, referring to the now dead Power.

"Not exactly," Lucifer stated. "Cassius only did what he thought was best. Of course, now he understands that he's only to do what I think best. It's a perfect arrangement really."

"What do you want?" Kennedy said wearily, knowing instinctively that another apocalypse was looming on the horizon.

"I want the other two Powers. You know where they are," Lucifer said. "Unless you deliver them to me, I will ravage this town with everything in my power."

"And how much power is that again?" Kara asked. "Because you only look like one, kinda short guy to me."

"Kara, baby, are you forgetting about the army of hellhounds just behind us?" Kennedy harshly whispered. Kara glared at her.

"I was being sarcastic," she replied. Then turning her attention to the man in front of them, she said, "I never really believed in the devil."

"Have it your way," he said. "But by the time I'm done, you'll worship me." With that, he turned on his heels and faded into the night. The hellhounds let out a chorus of howls and charged. Kara and Kennedy took one look at each other and ran as fast as they could down the street.

……………………….

"Checkmate," Lucian said, sliding his piece across the chessboard. Xander stared at it dubiously.

"No, there's gotta be another way," he said, resting his head on his palm and concentrating furiously. Anya walked over and peered over his shoulder at the board.

"He's right. You lost," she said bluntly.

"Thanks, An, for being so understanding about it," Xander said, rolling his eyes. Anya smiled and walked away, heading toward the dining room with several drinks in her hands. The group, or those still in the state of California and not on active patrol, was gathered at Joyce's house for an informal party of sorts to celebrate Callum's return from the dead. Currently, he, Spike, and Giles were playing darts in the basement. Meanwhile, Dawn, Joyce, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Cordelia were playing penny poker on the dining room table. From the sounds coming out of the room, Lucian and Xander had guessed that Dawn was winning.

"Okay, one more game," Xander said, finally giving up. "I've got a whole new strategy this time. Can't lose."

"That's what you said last time," Lucian replied, smiling as he put his pieces back in their correct places.

"Yeah, but you can't win every time. One of these times, you're gonna mess up, and when you do, hopefully, I'll stumble blindly into it and win completely by chance," Xander replied.

Lucian was about to respond when the front door crashed open, Kara and Kennedy running inside before slamming the door shut again. Kara leaned back against the door, completely out of breath, while Kennedy lowered herself onto the bottom step. "Are you guys okay?" Lucian asked, as he and Xander stood and moved across the living room toward them.

"Hellhounds," Kara said, in between panting breaths.

"Chased us from the cemetery," Kennedy filled in.

"Sent by the devil," Kara said.

"And they're all over town," Kennedy finished. "I need some water," she said, begrudgingly rising to her feet. The women came in the room a second later, concerned about the noise.

"Hellhounds," Xander and Lucian replied in unison before they could ask.

"Sent by Lucifer himself apparently," Xander added.

"What are we gonna do? They're not in town are they? They'll wreck the store," Anya said, her voice reaching a whole new octave. Kara winced slightly.

"Don't worry, the store will be fine," Kara said.

"How do you know that?" Anya asked suspiciously.

"I don't. But that's really the least of our concerns," Kara replied. "They followed us here."

Suddenly, they could hear howling echoing down the street and something thumped against the front door. Kara looked back at it wearily. "You guys might want to get some weapons."


	25. The way of the gun

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

Suddenly, they could hear howling echoing down the street and something thumped against the front door. Kara looked back at it wearily. "You guys might want to get some weapons."

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Faith could see the sun rising through the window of the airplane. Golden beams spread out over the clouds. "It's morning," she said, smiling over at Buffy, who was just waking up.

"We should be landing soon," Buffy replied, shifting so her head was resting on Faith's shoulder.

"Yeah. I guess the first thing we should do is check into a hotel," Faith commented, looking down at her partner.

"I'm sure there's one by the airport," Buffy replied, suppressing a yawn. Faith nodded.

"Thanks," she whispered softly. Buffy looked up at her in surprise.

"For what?"

"For coming with me," Faith said. "I know you don't understand what I'm going through and I'm pretty sure I haven't been the greatest person to be around lately. But it means a lot to me that you're here."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Buffy replied. She took Faith's hand in her own and lifted it up, pressing a kiss to her open palm.

"After we find someplace to stay, there's this little café on my old street. Serves good breakfast if I remember correctly. We should go there," Faith said, smiling slightly at the memory of the place. The owner used to give her free meals when she would come in. He knew that her mother couldn't afford much and Faith had been a scrawny child. She wasn't even sure if the café was still there, but it was one of the few places in Boston that she had felt safe and comfortable in.

Buffy smiled. "Sounds good," she said. She had been afraid that by going back to Boston, Faith would only be able to focus on the negative aspects of her life there. However, she seemed to have latched onto one of the few memories she had of the place. Buffy was hopeful that would be enough to get her through. Buffy could feel the plane start to slow as they began to make their descent.

"You know, I hear that when planes are taking off and landing, they're most likely to crash," Faith said, her grip tightening on the seat rest.

"Way to see the glass half full, baby," Buffy sighed and gently patted her hand.

"Don't I always?"

………………………………..

"This absolutely sucks," Dawn said, slumped over against the basement door. The doorframe rattled and she could feel a hellhound throwing itself against the door.

"Just don't let it in," Kara said, sitting next to her.

"There's one at the window," Anya said, holding onto her broom like a sword.

"Don't worry. We replaced the window with extra thick glass since the last time the town got taken over by demons," Xander said confidently, throwing his wife a half smile.

"Are you sure? 'Cuz that thing looks mighty fierce," Kennedy replied, from her position next to Kara. She, Kara, and Dawn were using all of their weight to keep the hellhounds from crashing through the door. Meanwhile, Joyce was tending to a rather nasty cut on Spike's temple, courtesy of a renegade paw. Willow and Tara were searching through some magic books that were being stored in the basement, in hopes of finding some kind of protection spell for the house, or even the town. Anya and Xander were huddled on Spike's bed, each clinging to some household item in hopes that it would defend them against attack.

"I wish Buffy and Faith were here," Dawn whined.

"Thanks, nice to see our efforts mean so much to you, kiddo," Kara said sarcastically.

"So are we just gonna hide out in the basement all night?" Spike asked as Joyce bandaged his wound.

"You got a better plan, Spike?" Kennedy asked, bracing herself as a hound threw itself against the door again.

"Well, jumping out the bloody window and killing the bastards sounds pretty good to me," Spike replied, smiling his thanks at Joyce as she walked away.

"Got any weapons down here?" Kara asked, evaluating their chances. Spike smiled. "Is that a yes?"

Moving over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, Spike fished a key out of his pocket. Sticking it in the lock, he turned it and threw open the door. "These good enough for ya, pet?" Spike asked, motioning to a row of shotguns. Kara smiled in appreciation.

"I think we've got ourselves a new plan."

…………………………..

Faith and Buffy stepped off the plane into the already busy Boston airport. After collecting their bags, they hailed a taxi and headed toward the nearest hotel. They arrived several minutes later and paid the driver. "Well, here we are," Faith said, slinging her carry on over her shoulder. They walked into the hotel office.

"How long are we staying?" Buffy asked as she paid the hotel manager for the first two nights.

"As long as it takes," Faith replied, looking out of the front windows of the office at the busy street outside.

"Come on," Buffy said, dangling the key in front of Faith. "Let's go get some real sleep." Faith smiled. They went to their room and quickly unpacked, both rolling into bed. "Should I call home?" Buffy asked as she curled up with Faith, her head resting on Faith's stomach.

"Nah, I'm sure everything is under control."


	26. On the Count of Three

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

Moving over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, Spike fished a key out of his pocket. Sticking it in the lock, he turned it and threw open the door. "These good enough for ya, pet?" Spike asked, motioning to a row of shotguns. Kara smiled in appreciation.

"I think we've got ourselves a new plan."

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Kara surveyed the group assembled before her. Each Scooby had been outfitted with a shotgun and enough ammunition to launch a war with. "I gotta say, Spike, I have never been more appreciative of your penchant towards violence before in my life," Kara said, nodding in approval.

"Thanks, pet," Spike said, loading up his shotgun.

"Is everybody ready?" Kennedy asked from her position at the door. The Scoobies mumbled a collective 'yes' and Kennedy smiled. "Let's go kick some ass then."

"On the count of three, back off the door. When those bastards come in here, they're not gonna know what hit them," Kara said, raising her gun and aiming it at the door. The group followed her example. "One…two," she said, before Cordelia interrupted her.

"Ah, before we actually get to three…could someone show me how to use this thing?" Cordelia asked, referring to the gun limply hanging in her grip. Lucian smiled and walked over to her.

"Just pull this," he said, tapping the trigger lightly.

"What happens when I run out of bullets?" Cordelia asked.

"Use it as a baseball bat," Xander quipped, smiling as Cordelia rolled her eyes. Then turning to Willow, he whispered, "Whose idea was it to give Cordelia a gun anyway?"

"Guys? Can we focus, please?" Kara pleaded. Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to Kennedy and Dawn, who were positioned by the door. "I'll be surprised if any of us live through this," she muttered. "Ready?" She asked the two girls. They nodded. "Okay then…three."

Dawn and Kennedy scrambled away from the door. Barely a second later, it crashed open. Two fierce looking hellhounds stood on the other side of the shattered door, growling menacingly. They leapt at the assembled group and a chorus of gunshots rang out. The two hellhounds crashed to the floor, skidded forward a few feet, and stopped dead, smoking. "Well that went well," Kara muttered in relief.

"Cordy?" Lucian said, looking back at her. "We're aiming for the demons," he reinforced. Cordelia smiled and glanced at the barrage of bullet holes above the doorframe.

"They're not all mine," she argued.

Lucian laughed, quickly stifling his reaction at her hurt look. "I'm sure they're not," he said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Although you were the only one aiming in that general direction."

"Shut up," Cordelia said.

"Quiet, guys," Kennedy said, looking back at them. "We don't want the entire demon population of Sunnydale to know that we're coming, do we?" She said as they began to creep out of the basement. The rest of the house was quiet. They moved silently to the front door. Once they were gathered in the foyer, Kara grasped the doorknob with a shaking hand.

"Let's go save the town," she said and pulled the door open.

………………………………..

Faith groaned and rolled over in the hard, hotel bed. The sun was streaming in through a slit in the blinds. Squinting her eyes, Faith looked over at Buffy. "You awake?" She whispered. Buffy stirred and opened her eyes.

"Yeah," she whispered back. "How did you sleep?"

"I didn't," Faith replied, her voice tainted with a weariness that practically hung from her limbs. "You?"

"I kept waking up," Buffy said, scooting over toward Faith until she could rest her head on Faith's stomach. "What time is it?"

"Ten," Faith replied. She absently began running her hand through Buffy's hair as she stared up at the discolored ceiling above them. "I don't know about you, but I could use some coffee right about now." Faith grinned as Buffy nearly jumped out of the bed.

"Hell yeah," Buffy said, smiling and pulling Faith to her feet.

Nearly a half hour later, they were exiting their hotel room. "That café I told you about is only a couple of blocks from here," Faith said, grabbing Buffy's hand and leading her across the parking lot.

"Good, I'm starved," Buffy replied. Traffic whizzed by them as they walked. Buffy watched as the city began to change around them. Their hotel was located in a fairly affluent part of the city. However, within a few blocks, the cityscape began to change drastically. Smoke stacks appeared on the horizon. The roads, before well maintained, had potholes and cracks running down them. The buildings began to change as well, becoming more and more decrepit as they walked.

"Welcome to my neighborhood," Faith said.

"This is where you grew up?" Buffy asked, looking around and realizing, perhaps for the first time, just how different Faith's life had been from hers. She always knew that Faith hadn't grown up in the nicest of places, but seeing it for herself, she realized that they really had come from two entirely different worlds.

"Yeah," Faith replied. "Not exactly like Sunnydale, huh?" She said, smiling slightly over at Buffy. Then she stopped walking. "Here we are," she said, looking up at the faded and rusted sign of 'Charlie's Café.' Faith pulled open the front door and a little bell over the top cheered gloomily.

There weren't many people in the café. Only a couple of booths were occupied. Faith led Buffy up to the counter, where they sat on some stools covered in cracked, red plastic. "I'll be right with you," a gruff voice said from the kitchen.

"Is it safe to eat here?" Buffy whispered over to Faith, looking around. Faith smiled and laced her fingers with Buffy's.

"Yeah, it's safe to eat here, B," she said. Buffy flushed red with embarrassment. "It's cool. Girls like you don't usually wander into parts of the city like this."

"And what about girls like you?" Buffy asked, giving Faith's hand a loving squeeze.

"We come from parts of the city like this," she answered.

"What can I get for you?" A man asked, appearing in front of them with a pad and pencil in his hand. "Wait a second," he said, looking up at them and seeing Faith. "Well I'll be damned…Faith?" He asked, smiling widely.

"Hey, Charlie," Faith said, with an equal smile on her face. "How's business?"

"You know, booming," Charlie said, motioning with his free hand to the mostly empty seating area. "I never thought I'd see you again, kiddo. What're you doing back here?"

"I thought it was about time I saw my mom again," Faith said, her smile fading a little. Charlie noticed.

"Well, before you do, old Charlie's gonna make sure you have a hot breakfast in you. So who's the girl?" He asked, leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially with Faith. Faith smiled.

"This is Buffy, my wife," she replied. Charlie wiped his hands off on his jeans and extended one.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said as Buffy shook his hand with a timid grin on her face. "You picked a winner here, Faith," he said, winking over at her. "I'll have two specials up in no time."

"Thanks," Faith called after him as he scurried back into the kitchen.

"He seems nice," Buffy said.

"Yeah, he was like a father to me for a while," Faith said. Buffy stood and motioned over to the pay phone in the corner.

"I'm gonna call home real quick," she said, moving away before Faith could stop her.

"I'm sure they're five by five," Faith called after her. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"


	27. Stand Off

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Quiet, guys," Kennedy said, looking back at them. "We don't want the entire demon population of Sunnydale to know that we're coming, do we?" She said as they began to creep out of the basement. The rest of the house was quiet. They moved silently to the front door. Once they were gathered in the foyer, Kara grasped the doorknob with a shaking hand.

"Let's go save the town," she said and pulled the door open.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

"Lucian, wait! The phone's ringing," Cordelia whispered harshly as the group moved out of the house, stealthily creeping toward the street with shotguns in hand.

"So?" Lucian whispered, walking back to her.

"What if it's important?" Cordelia said, her hand resting on her hip and the other gripping the shotgun clumsily. She could see the rest of the group dispersing behind Lucian, disappearing into the night, but it didn't register in her mind.

"Well, what if it's a telemarketer?" Lucian countered.

"Just answer the phone," Cordelia said impatiently.

"It's not my house," Lucian responded, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "Let it ring."

Cordelia shot him a glare before picking up the phone. "Summers' residence," she said as sweetly as she could. Her years of answering the phone for Angel Investigations had taught her how to mask her emotions when talking to clients, or anyone in general.

"Cordelia?" Buffy asked in confusion, her voice crackling over the line.

"Hey, Buffy, now's really not a good time," Cordelia answered.

"What, why not?" Buffy replied, instantly panicked.

"Oh, it's nothing important," Cordelia replied. Willow and Tara had specifically instructed them in no way to give Buffy or Faith a reason to come home early from their trip. Everyone knew that Faith needed to spend as much time in Boston as was necessary, whether the world was ending or not. Though Cordelia assumed Willow had been exaggerating slightly, she didn't want to be the one blamed for cutting into Faith's emotional healing.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked uncertainly.

"Absolutely. Anyway, I hope you guys are having a wonderful trip, but we've really got to go. Talk to you later," Cordelia said, quickly hanging up the phone.

"Why didn't you tell her about the hellhounds?" Lucian asked.

"Willow said not to mention anything that would upset Buffy or Faith if either one of them called," Cordelia responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"So? There's an army of hellhounds ripping the town apart. I think that supercedes Willow's good intentions," Lucian replied.

"Supercedes? That's a big word," Cordelia jokingly mocked.

"Well, I am a god, you know," Lucian said, flashing her a smile. "Let's go."

"Uh, Lucian, wait a second," Cordelia said, her face suddenly pale.

"What's wrong?" Luciana asked, then quickly added. "Cordy, don't turn around."

"Why not?" Cordelia asked, suddenly panicked.

"There's a hellhound behind you," Lucian said, instantly aiming his shotgun.

"Well, that's great, because there's one behind you too," Cordelia said. Lucian cringed.

"If I shoot the one behind you, the one behind me will charge. But if I shoot the one behind me, the one behind you will charge," Lucian said.

"I can shoot the one behind you," Cordelia argued.

"Ha…yeah, like that's an option," Lucian snickered.

"Why isn't it?" Cordelia asked, instantly angry.

"Did you see the door frame downstairs, Cor? I don't want that to be me," Lucian replied seriously.

"I won't shoot you," Cordelia replied, aiming her shotgun as well.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Lucian replied, eyeing Cordelia's gun nervously.

"Just relax. I know what I'm doing," Cordelia replied. The hellhounds crept closer, low growls escaping their throats. Cordelia and Lucian stood only a few feet apart with guns aimed just over each other's shoulders.

"On the count of three then," Lucian replied, silently praying that he wouldn't get shot. "One…two…three." Cordelia closed her eyes, two shots rang out, Lucian cringed, and the hellhounds dropped dead. Cordelia quickly opened her eyes and smiled. "Tell me you didn't just shoot with your eyes closed," Lucian begged.

"Fine," Cordelia said, smiling widely. "I didn't just shoot with my eyes closed."

"Kara was right…it'll be a miracle if we all survive this," Lucian said as Cordelia moved passed him, out of the front door.

"Speaking of Kara," Cordelia said as he followed after her, "where did everybody go?"

Lucian looked out into the expansive dark of the night, straining to hear some sound of their friends, only to be greeted with silence. Frowning and slinging his gun over his shoulder, he muttered, "Well, shit."

…………………………………….

"I don't think dividing our power is the best of plans," Cassius argued. He was standing in the doorway of Lucifer's penthouse, sweating profusely, and silently wishing he hadn't given in to his plan to take over the world. It was becoming far more complicated than he liked.

"What makes you think I particularly care what you feel is best?" Lucifer shot back, pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

"As you wish," Cassius said. He snapped his fingers and instantly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was in the realm of the Powers that Be, standing before the reflecting pool. "You want me to spy on our enemies, I will. But that doesn't mean I have to tell you everything," Cassius said, smiling to himself. The pool shifted before him to reveal Buffy and Faith. Buffy was hanging up a pay phone receiver and Faith was sitting at the counter of a rather greasy looking restaurant. "Where the devil are you?" Cassius whispered to himself, not recognizing their surroundings. Sitting down, he watched.

……………………………

Buffy hung up the phone, staring at it as if it were a foreign thing. "That was weird," she muttered to herself and turned, walking back to Faith. "Hey, Faith," she said, sitting down next to her partner, "do you think this is weird? Cordelia answered the phone, said she didn't have time to talk, that nothing important was going on, but for some reason she was pressed for time, and then hung up on me."

"Not really?" Faith answered.

"Why not?"

"It's Cordelia. She was probably painting her nails or something, didn't want to mess them up," Faith replied, smiling when Buffy nodded, looking slightly relieved.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Buffy replied. Charlie popped out of the kitchen at that moment with their meals.

"Here you go, ladies," he said, smiling widely. "If you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks Charlie," Faith said, smiling back.

"So where are we going after this?" Buffy asked, poking at her food nervously.

"Just eat it, B," Faith replied, watching her out of the corner of her eye. "After this, I was thinking we'd go see my mom."


	28. The Silence of the Dead

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

"So where are we going after this?" Buffy asked, poking at her food nervously.

"Just eat it, B," Faith replied, watching her out of the corner of her eye. "After this, I was thinking we'd go see my mom."

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"You know, it's funny, but no matter where you go, the cemeteries all look exactly the same," Faith said as she and Buffy walked through one of Boston's larger and newer cemeteries. The sun was shining down on them, warming them as they walked. Though they walked side by side, a great wall seemed to stand between them. They could have been miles apart, though they were only several feet. The cemetery was empty and silent. It seemed that everywhere Buffy looked, for miles around her, all she could see were headstones marking the places where dead people lay.

Faith was correct in her observation, however. It struck Buffy that just as everyone was the same in death, everyone was the same in birth. Everyone was formed out of the same act, the same matter, the same circumstances and medical wonder. Likewise, everyone died and when they did, they turned into bone and ash. No matter how rich or important the person was, he or she turned into the dust that fed the poor and hopeless. Buffy shivered, despite the warmth of the sun beaming overhead. She rarely visited cemeteries during the day and she found that she didn't particularly like them.

"Are we almost there?" Buffy asked. It seemed like they had been walking through the sea of headstones for hours, though in reality, it had only been ten minutes. Faith was walking slowly, as if trying to remember exactly where her mother lay.

"I think so," Faith replied. "I haven't been here in a long time. But I think she's here somewhere." Buffy nodded and continued walking. She didn't know what she would do when her mother died. She couldn't imagine living without her. Even though she wasn't living in her old house now, she visited it frequently. Her mother had nearly become her best friend since she and Faith got married and moved out.

"It's just up there," Faith said, stopping suddenly. Her hands were in her pockets and her hair whipped in front of her face in the breeze that was blowing through the oak trees in the cemetery. "If you don't mind, I think I need to be alone," Faith said, turning to Buffy. Buffy nodded uncertainly and turned, walking back to the road a few yards away.

Faith stood still for several long moments, vaguely looking at the headstone a few feet ahead of her. Finally, her feet propelled her forward. She walked slowly toward it, stopping when she was standing in front of it. The stone looked cold. The grass in front of the headstone was longer than in front of the others. Unlike the other headstones, her mother's didn't have any flowers lying beside it. Faith sighed, mentally kicking herself for not bringing any, and kneeled down in front of the stone.

"Been a while, huh?" She asked. "Or have you even noticed," she muttered bitterly. "That's not why I came here though," she added thoughtfully. She remained silent for several minutes, as if trying to find the words to say. The birds chirped in the trees interspersed through the cemetery. Faith looked over and saw Buffy idly wandering along the road.

"I don't want her to know you," Faith said suddenly. "You wouldn't like her very much, I don't think. She's from one of those nice families you used to hate so much. You know what I'm talking about, the ones with money? Well, that's the kind of people she comes from. Not like you and me."

"But that's not true anymore either. You'd probably hate me now too, even more than you did before. I've become one of those people, even though I can't really see it. I know you'd say that I'm not good enough for her, and despite myself, I'd believe it. But I'm starting to see now that I am good enough. I always have been," Faith paused and let her gaze linger back to the headstone in front of her. Reaching out, she traced her mother's name with her fingertips.

"I understand now. You didn't want to be the person you became, but nothing made you change. Something made me change, though. She did," Faith said, referring to Buffy. "You didn't have that and you wasted away. I get it now. And I don't hate you for it. I know it always pissed you off when I told you, but I love you. Even now, I still do. I guess it's normal to love your mother, even if she was like you," Faith said. "I'm sorry I didn't visit you after the funeral. I meant to. But things just happened."

"I can't say that I'll ever come here again. I probably won't. I'm living in California now. It's nice there, sunny. I have friends…family. Everything I always wanted," Faith paused again and drew back her hand. "I hope wherever you are, you have the peace you never had in life. Maybe the next time we see each other, things will be different," Faith said, her voice thick with emotion. She remained kneeling in front of the stone for several long minutes, memorizing the look of it. Then, she stood and walked away, walking back to Buffy.

"You ready to go?" Buffy asked when she saw her. Faith smiled and nodded, reaching out and taking Buffy's hand in her own.

"Yeah, let's blaze," she said. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Buffy smiled, noticing the change in her. Together, they walked hand in hand out of the cemetery, neither to set foot there again during the course of their lives.


	29. Stained Glass and Galleries

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Yeah, let's blaze," Faith said. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Buffy smiled, noticing the change in her. Together, they walked hand in hand out of the cemetery, neither to set foot there again during the course of their lives.

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Kara wasn't entirely sure how it had all happened. The group had fought its way down Revello Drive, warding off hellhounds as they went. At some point, Xander noticed that Cordelia and Lucian had disappeared. That was when all hell broke loose. A swarm of hellhounds came upon them and surrounded them. They fought free, but the group was scattered and separated. They paired off as best they could and decided to meet up at the Magic Box if they could reach it. Now, Kara and Joyce were barreling down one of Sunnydale's residential streets with four hounds on their heels.

"I think I'm out of bullets," Joyce shouted over to Kara. "What should I do?"

"Run like hell," Kara shouted back to her grandmother. Though they had started out with what seemed like enough bullets, their skirmish along Revello Drive had greatly depleted them.

"Turn here," Joyce shouted suddenly as they came to an intersection. Charging ahead, they turned left and found themselves on a street perpendicular to Sunnydale's main drag. "We're on the opposite end of Main Street from the Magic Box. But we're only two storefronts down from the gallery."

"We'll wait there until we can move on again," Kara replied. She didn't know how Joyce was keeping up with her, but she had practically matched Kara's pace the entire time they had been running. Though Kara had slayer strength and speed, she was starting to tire. She could only imagine how Joyce was feeling. They finally came out onto Main Street and skidded to a halt.

Hellhounds were everywhere. Most of the storefronts were busted in. However, they could see where people had barricaded themselves into stores. For those that couldn't barricade themselves in, they simply went up to the roof. "It's right here," Joyce said, regaining her composure and leading Kara to the gallery. The front window was smashed in.

"We can't stay here," Kara said, surveying the damage.

"Yes, we can. There's a back room. It doesn't have any windows. Nothing could get in," Joyce replied. Cautiously, they stepped through the broken glass where the front window used to be. Kara raised her shotgun, ready to shoot practically anything that moved.

"I don't think there's anything here," Kara whispered. She couldn't hear anything, and though her slayer senses were tingling off the charts, she could sense that there was no immediate danger. They quickly moved to the back of the store. Joyce fished her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the storage room door. She flung it open and they stepped inside. Kara quickly shut the door and looked around, noting that the room was empty. She audibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" Kara asked, looking over at Joyce, who had slumped against the wall.

"I'm just a bit tired," Joyce said, smiling slightly. "I don't think I've ever ran that hard in my entire life."

"I hear ya," Kara said, chuckling. "Well, we won't go anywhere for a while. I think we should stay here until the sun comes up. After that, I have a feeling we'll be seeing less of our furry friends."

"Why's that?" Joyce asked, leaning her shotgun against the wall and sitting on the floor.

"Well, most evil things don't like to be out in the sun, even if they can be. It exposes them, makes them feel vulnerable. I think someone sent them here though," Kara concluded.

"Why?" Joyce asked.

"There's so many of them and they're all working toward a common goal. Back in my old world, the demons that took over, they didn't work together. They killed as many of us as they did themselves, fighting amongst themselves for control and power. But I haven't seen any of these hellhounds attacking each other. It's like they're working together, which means that they're working for someone else, someone with a lot more power than they have," Kara reasoned.

"I wonder who that could be. Cassius maybe?" Joyce thought aloud.

"It could be. Only…I wonder how much power he has. What I mean is, I wonder if he would be capable of bringing so many demons to the earth," Kara wondered.

"He was capable of taking over your body," Joyce pointed out.

Kara smiled bitterly. "Yeah, he was. But," she said, with a gleam in her eye, "He wasn't able to sustain it. Callum forced him out, which means that Callum had more power than he did."

"Well, if it's not Cassius, I wonder who it is."

……………………..

"How the hell did we end up in the cemetery?" Anya demanded as she, Willow, and Tara screeched to a halt outside of Restfield.

"I don't know," Willow replied, looking genuinely confused. "I thought we were heading to the Magic Box."

"No, we went the wrong way down Elm. I tried to tell you, but you kept running," Tara interjected.

"Well, shit," Anya muttered. "We're all the way across town now. There's no way we'll reach the Magic Box without getting slashed to pieces."

"Guys? We should keep moving," Tara said, motioning behind them. Several hellhounds were barreling down the street toward them. Quickly scrambling over the wall, the three women landed in a heap on the other side.

"Where are we supposed to hide in here?" Anya hissed, feeling very vulnerable and slightly freaked out at being in a cemetery while running for her life.

"Don't take this as an omen," Willow said, as if reading her mind.

"Yeah, that's gonna happen," Anya muttered back.

"Mausoleum," Tara said suddenly.  
"What?" Willow and Anya asked, looking over at her.

"You wanted to know where we should hide. Mausoleum," Tara replied matter-of-factly.

"No way," Anya stressed. "You want me to hide in a box with a bunch of dead people?"

"You have a better idea?" Tara asked.

"No and I think we better figure out something now. They're climbing over the wall," Willow said, pointing above them.

"Mausoleum it is," Anya said, scrambling away. Willow and Tara followed quickly behind her. They stopped at the first mausoleum they came to. Anya tried to pull the door open, but couldn't. "I can't get it open," she said, looking back at the two witches.

"Let us try," Willow said, moving forward with Tara. They pulled, but to no avail. "I think it's locked," Willow concluded.

"Well, screw this," Anya said, lifting her shotgun. Willow and Tara leapt out of the way as Anya blasted a hole where the lock had been. "It's not locked now, is it?" She said, pushing the door open. The three women quickly moved inside and pushed the door closed, blocking it with the lid of the coffin.

"I guess we're gonna be here for a while," Willow commented as the hellhounds began fiercely attacking the door.

"Seems like it," Tara replied. Anya propped her gun up against the coffin and moved over to a little stained glass window in the corner. The glass was fogged and warped, but she could see out of it. She gazed out for several moments before she caught sight of a man walking through the cemetery.

"What the hell," she muttered to herself, noting that the hellhounds seemed to take no notice of the man. Anya squinted her eyes and concentrated on trying to make out the man's face. He turned toward her and suddenly she recognized him. "Guys?" Anya said, fear staining her voice. Willow and Tara instantly looked over at her.

"What is it?" They asked in unison.

"We have a big problem."


	30. Tumbling Through the Rabbit Hole

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. This may be the last update until after Christmas, I'm not sure. So if it is, I hope everyone has a merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate.

Previously:

"What the hell," she muttered to herself, noting that the hellhounds seemed to take no notice of the man. Anya squinted her eyes and concentrated on trying to make out the man's face. He turned toward her and suddenly she recognized him. "Guys?" Anya said, fear staining her voice. Willow and Tara instantly looked over at her.

"What is it?" They asked in unison.

"We have a big problem."

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Kennedy kicked open the back door of the Magic Box and stealthily crept inside. It was dark in the store, as the town's electricity had shut off several minutes ago. However, dawn was rapidly approaching and a gray light spilled over the horizon. As she had been running down the street, the street lamps had systematically begun shutting down. Kennedy moved through the training area Giles had built for Buffy what seemed like ages ago and into the main part of the store. "Damn," she muttered to herself, inspecting the damage. The hellhounds had torn through the store, upsetting all of the displays, breaking the front window, and causing general chaos. "Anya's gonna be pissed."

Turning, she walked back to the training area, closing and locking the door behind her that separated it from the main part of the store. "It's clear, you can come in now," she said, motioning for Giles, who was waiting outside in the alley. He rushed in and quickly closed the door.

"Hellhounds in the alley, but I don't think they saw me," he reported breathlessly. "I'm getting too old for this," he added, almost to himself.

Kennedy snickered. "Aren't we all," she said, smiling slightly. "Want something to drink," she asked, motioning to the mini fridge.

"Water, please," Giles said, smiling gratefully. Kennedy moved over to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water. She easily tossed one to Giles, then opened the other and took a gulp.

"The town's a complete wreck. Buffy and Faith picked a great time to go on vacation," Kennedy said, sitting down next to Giles on a sofa in the corner.

"Yes, I agree. We could have used their help tonight, although, I think we're managing fine on our own," he said. "Here's to making it to the Magic Box without a scratch," he said, raising his bottle of water.

"I'll drink to that," Kennedy said, lightly tapping his bottle.

"The others should be arriving here shortly, I imagine. Though I think we were the closest once we all got separated," Giles said.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to see Kara again," Kennedy responded, looking around worriedly.

"I hope Joyce holds up through all this. It's one thing to help research demons, it's another to actually fight them," Giles said, clearing his throat and taking off his glasses. He began meticulously cleaning them with the front of his shirt.

Kennedy watched him for several seconds before a wide smile broke out on her face. "You're totally into Ms. Summers aren't you?" She asked, laughing when Giles turned a deep shade of red.

"I insist heartily that I am not," he replied.

"Yes, you are," Kennedy said a second time. "I can see it in your eyes. You've got a crush."

"Well, maybe just a little one. But honestly, I don't see why it's such a big deal," Giles responded, exasperated.

"You should tell her," Kennedy replied.

"And why on earth would I want to do that?" Giles asked, looking over at her.

"Look, between you and me, you're damn hot for an old guy. And I'm sure Joyce's thought about it once or twice, since the band candy episode," Kennedy smiled as Giles blushed further. "Yeah, I heard about that. Besides, there's no harm in asking."

"There's always the possibility of rejection and then the awkward moments that would occur every time we were in the same room together, which is frequently," Giles retorted.

"You gotta think positively, G," Kennedy responded. "After all, we've all got a ticking clock hanging over our heads, why not take a chance every once in a while?"

……………………

"Bloody hell!" Spike growled, kicking with all his might to try to dislodge the hound that had chomped down on his leg. "Would you hurry up?"

"I'm trying!" Dawn yelled back, equally as angry and frustrated. She and Spike had been making fairly good progress toward the Magic Box. A couple of blocks before Main Street they ran into a roaming band of hellhounds, most of which Spike had dispatched, but several remained and were viciously attacking him. Dawn was trying to reload her shotgun, but the bullets were getting jammed.

"It's not making the clicking noise," Dawn mumbled angrily.

"Screw the clicking noise, love. Just do something. Ow!" Spike yelled back as a hound clawed him across the face. Kicking with all his might, he managed to dislodge the one by his leg.

Dawn looked up and sighed in frustration. "You know what? To hell with it!" She cried before flipping the gun around and swinging it like a baseball bat at the nearest moving object. Several minutes later, she stopped and surveyed the damage.

"You've got a lot of rage in you," Spike commented, looking at the bloody and broken bodies of several hellhounds lying around him.

"Yes, yes, I do," Dawn commented. "Let's get you up." Reaching down, she helped Spike get to his feet. However, once he had gotten there, he found that the wound on his leg was far too painful to walk on.

"I don't think I can make it to the Magic Box," he concluded after several trial steps.

"We have to get out of the street," Dawn replied, uneasily looking around.

"We'll go underground," Spike responded, hobbling over to the nearest manhole cover. Dawn rushed to his side, helping him as he walked. Reaching down, he ripped off the manhole cover and grimaced at the foul stench that rose up from the sewers.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dawn replied.

"Sorry, pet, but this is the safest place for us tonight. I know my way around the sewers. With any luck, I might even be able to lead us to the Magic Box underground. There's a manhole cover in the back alley. It's our best shot," Spike replied apologetically. "I'll go first."

"Be careful," Dawn said nervously. Spike climbed down the ladder, wincing as he went, until he hit solid ground. Dawn followed quickly after him, sliding the manhole cover in place. "You okay?" She asked.

"I'll be alright," Spike replied, smiling softly. The sewers were pitch black. Reaching out, Spike grabbed Dawn's hand and began leading her through the sewers.

"I can't see anything, Spike," she said fearfully.

"Don't worry, I can. Vampires can see well in the dark," Spike replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "The electricity must be out."

"I guess so," Dawn replied. Nearly directly above them, Kennedy and Giles had just passed, and the streetlamps had just shut down. "One of these days, I'd like to visit a normal town, where they don't have demon attacks and hellhound attacks and apocalypses."

"I don't think such a place exists, love," Spike replied. "But if we find one, I'll take you there for as long as you like."

Dawn smiled in the dark and rested her head against Spike's shoulder as they walked. "Sounds great," she said. They came to a fork in the road. There was a wall in front of them with a tunnel to the left and a tunnel to the right.

"I think it's this way," Spike said, walking to the left. They had just turned when they ran into something large and heavy. Both Spike and Dawn fell backwards.

"Ew, I have sewer on me," Dawn said in annoyance, in unison with another voice.

"Who's there?" Spike asked, instantly on his feet again, despite the pain.

"Relax," Dawn said, recognizing the other voice. "It's just Xander."

"_Just_ Xander," Xander muttered. "Thanks, that makes me feel special."

"Don't worry, mate," Callum replied, pulling himself to his feet. "We all know you're special."

"Hey," Dawn said, recognizing Callum's voice in the dark. "I didn't know you were there."

"Yeah, Xan and me got split up from everyone else. Running wasn't working, hiding wasn't working, the rooftops weren't working, so we thought we'd hit the underground scene and see what was happening," Callum replied as Spike was helping Dawn to her feet.

"Unfortunately, we can't really see anything. The lights just went out a couple minutes ago," Xander grumbled. "And it smells like a sewer down here."

"Well, we are in a sewer, mate," Callum replied, chuckling to himself.

"And what are you so happy for?" Spike asked.

"I'm a god now. I'm above all this," Callum replied, laughing when Dawn tried to swat him and ended up losing her balance and stumbling into him instead.

"We should keep moving guys," Xander broke in. "I want to get to the Magic Box to make sure Anya's okay."

"We don't even know if she's there or not," Spike said, leading the way. They formed a human chain, each holding on to someone else to make sure that no one got lost.

"It's Anya. There's no way she's not at that store. I think she loves it more than me sometimes," Xander retorted.

"Seriously," Dawn replied.

"Are we heading in the right direction?" Callum asked. "We just came from this way."

"I think we are," Spike replied.

"Great, we're probably lost," Dawn said.

"Well, if we are," Xander said cheerfully, "at least we're lost together."


	31. The Rising Sun

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow: The Rising Sun

Notes: I hope everyone had a good holiday. Here's the next chapter, on the 26th, as requested. Review, please!

Previously:

"Are we heading in the right direction?" Callum asked. "We just came from this way."

"I think we are," Spike replied.

"Great, we're probably lost," Dawn said.

"Well, if we are," Xander said cheerfully, "at least we're lost together."

Chapter Thirty:

"What is it?" Tara asked as she and Willow moved over to where Anya was crouching, staring out of the mausoleum window.

"We're in big trouble," Anya muttered to herself. "Can you see that guy?"

"Yeah," Willow and Tara responded together. "Who is he?"

"The Devil," Anya replied grimly. "Walking the earth with a bunch of hell hounds. This is not good."

"We really need Buffy and Faith," Tara muttered under her breath.

"I agree," Anya said. "A little late for that now though."

"What's going on?" Willow asked, motioning toward some movement several yards away from the mausoleum. Two figures appeared to be climbing over the cemetery wall. Lucifer stopped walking and turned, watching as well. The figures landed in a heap, clearly out of breath and exhausted. Squinting her eyes, Anya tried to make out their faces. Suddenly, she paled.

"Oh, no," Anya said breathlessly.

"What?" Tara asked.

"It's Lucian and Cordelia."

…………………………..

The sun was shining overhead, warming them as they walked. Faith and Buffy walked down one of Boston's many cracked and broken sidewalks, hand in hand, enjoying the late afternoon. They were in Faith's old neighborhood, walking toward the apartment complex where she used to live. After they had seen it, they would catch a cab to go back to Sunnydale – home. "I can't believe you used to live here," Buffy said, looking around at the leaning, dilapidated buildings with wonder. "I can't believe anyone lives here."

"I know, not so nice, huh?" Faith said, smiling slightly. "I never thought I'd get out of here. I always dreamed that someday I would be like all those nice people on TV who lived in nice houses and have family dinners and all that shit. I never thought that it would actually happen though. I mean, you can have your dreams here, but in the back of your mind, you always know that they'll never come true, no matter how much you want them to. But here I am," Faith said, squeezing Buffy's hand. "And I've got everything I've ever wanted."

"Yeah?" Buffy said, smiling goofily.

"Most definitely," Faith said, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on Buffy's cheek. "Everything." They continued to walk in silence, both, for the moment, completely happy with their lives. "Well, here it is," Faith said, stopping in front of a tall apartment building.

"So this is where you lived?" Buffy asked, looking up at the ominous building. Tiny windows dotted the dirty, grimy front of the building.

"Looks kinda like a prison, huh?" Faith said, chuckling mirthlessly.

"Yeah, it does," Buffy agreed.

"Not my prison anymore though," Faith said to herself. Then turning, she hailed a cab passing by down the street. It pulled over and she and Buffy walked to it. They got into the back and the cabby turned to them expectantly.

"The Red Fox Motel, please," Buffy said. Before they left, they had to check out of their motel. Faith turned and watched out of the back window of the taxi as the apartment building faded away. Finally, the cab turned a corner and the building was blocked from view. Turning back around, Faith slung her arm around Buffy and smiled.

"I'm ready to go home now."

………………………..

"We have to keep moving," Cordelia said, helping Lucian to his feet. They had landed in a heap on the other side of the cemetery wall. Cordelia could hear hounds scratching at the wall behind them, trying to climb over. Dawn was beginning to break over the horizon and for a split second, Cordelia had to shut her eyes as the sun's rays spilled across the ground. Lucian grabbed her hand and they quickly moved forward, looking for shelter.

"Hello," a voice to their left said. Stopping suddenly, they both turned and looked at the man standing there.

"You shouldn't be out here," Cordelia said. "It isn't safe. Come with us."

"Oh, no. I'll be alright," the man said, waving her concern away. Lucian gazed at him for a moment.

"I know you, don't I?" Lucian asked, stepping forward.

"I'm sure you do, Lucian," Lucifer said, chuckling to himself. "We've been struggling against each other for hundreds of years."

"Who is this guy?" Cordelia asked, looking over at Lucian nervously.

"Evil," Lucian replied instantly. "He's pure evil. Let's get out of here."

"Wait a second," Lucifer said, following after them as they began walking away. "I've wanted to talk to you for quite some time."

Cordelia stopped walking suddenly and grabbed her head, whimpering slightly. Lucian rushed back to her and caught her as she nearly fell over. Her eyes were glassy for a moment before they cleared and she looked up at him.. "What's wrong?" Lucian asked.

"Vision….shit," she said to herself. Lucifer walked closer, nearly within a foot of them. "Run," Cordelia said suddenly. "And don't look back." Lucian hesitated for a moment before turning and running. Everything in him told him to stay, except Cordelia's eyes. He knew that she had seen something that terrified her, he could see it in her eyes. But he could see determination there as well – a determination he had never seen in her before.

Cordelia took a deep breath before turning and swinging her shotgun with all of her might as Lucifer's head. The gun connected with the side of his head and he stumbled backwards. Growling, Lucifer clutched the wound and looked up at her. His eyes flashed green and he charged. A flash of silver shone in the early morning light as he moved and before Cordelia could step out of the way, he tackled her to the ground. She landed with a thump and felt an intense pain shoot through her abdomen. Groaning in pain, she looked down and saw the handle of a knife sticking out of her chest.

Lucian ran to the cemetery wall and looked back. Cordelia was lying on the ground with a knife sticking out of her. Lucifer had rolled to the side and was getting to his feet, smiling triumphantly. "Keep running!" Lucian heard somewhere in the back of his mind. Blinking away the mist of tears that covered his eyes, he looked over and saw Anya, Tara, and Willow running toward him from a mausoleum.

"Keep running!" Anya said, motioning for him to continue on. "We're right behind you." Lucian nodded vaguely and turned back to the wall. All of the strength seemed to leave his arms as he climbed. Finally, he let himself fall onto the other side. The sun rode higher in the sky and he heard three thumps as Anya, Tara, and Willow landed on the other side of the wall with him.

"What about Cordelia?" He asked. He felt like his stomach was in his throat and his tongue laid heavy in his mouth.

"We can't go back for her," Tara said softly.

"Lucian," Willow said, commanding his attention, "there's nothing we can do for her. There's no way the three of us can take him on. We have to get the others."

Lucian nodded as Anya pulled him to his feet. "Can you run?" She asked. He nodded again and slowly ran behind them, looking back over his shoulder at the cemetery wall.

Cordelia closed her eyes and rested her head on the grass. She could feel the sun on her face and the pain in her stomach seemed to be lessening, but she felt cold. "Everything's okay," she muttered to herself as the world around her faded away into a distinct blackness. The sun rose in the sky and the birds began chirping in the trees. The hellhounds retreated back into the shadows, leaving no trace that they had been in Sunnydale, save the destruction they left behind. Lucifer wiped his hands on his shirt and walked away, fading into the light of the rising sun.

………………………………

Cassius watched from the reflecting pool as Cordelia died. Despite himself, a single tear rolled down his cheek. When he had killed Veronica, greed and a lust for power had consumed him. But as his plans slowly failed and he saw the evil that resided in the heart of darkness, he began to turn away from his original plans. A seed of doubt grew in his mind and he began to feel guilt for what he had done. Moreover, he found himself rooting for the slayer's friends as they struggled to survive all that was thrown at them.

Thus, when he foresaw that Lucifer would kill Lucian, he had sent the seer a vision of what was to come. He knew that she would risk her life to save Lucian. She didn't deserve to die, but she had chosen to give her life to save one of the Powers that Be – not for any personal gain, simply because it was the right thing to do. Cassius sat back and held his head in his hands. He knew what he had to do now.

……………………..

Callum stopped running suddenly. "What is it?" Dawn asked, turning back to him. The electricity had popped back on in the sewers a few minutes ago and they were running through the tunnels toward the Magic Box, now certain of where they were going.

"Cordelia," Callum said, his voice breaking suddenly and his face turning pale.

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"She's dead."


	32. Call to Action

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. This is winding up. It shouldn't be but a few more chapters, we'll see.

Previously:

"Cordelia," Callum said, his voice breaking suddenly and his face turning pale.

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"She's dead."

Chapter Thirty-One:

Buffy looked out of the window as the plane began to descend into the airport. The sun was shining in a full, bright, orange ball that lit up the sky in golden warmth. It distinctly reminded Buffy of California. There was something about California, some mystical and magical quality that made it seem warmer and more carefree than any other place on the earth. Though Boston had been interesting, it held a cold detachment that she didn't relish. California, however, felt like home.

"Good to be home, huh?" Faith said, smiling over at her.

"I was just thinking that," Buffy replied.

"I wonder how the others are doing," Faith rhetorically asked.

"We'll find out soon enough. I left a message on the machine at home telling them that we were coming back. Hopefully someone will be meeting us," Buffy replied. The plane began to slow and they could feel vibrations through the floor as the landing gear shifted. Within moments, the plane touched the ground, bouncing slightly, before settling on the pavement of the runway.

The plane slowed to a stop and Buffy could hear hundreds of little clicks as people began to disengage their seatbelts. One by one, people began to rise, reaching up into the overhead bins for their carryon luggage. Buffy and Faith had only taken one, small bag each with them to Boston, both knowing that they wouldn't be there long. They quickly retrieved their bags and moved into the mass of people moving up the aisle. The swarm of people led them through the gate and out into the airport. They wandered off from their fellow passengers once they were out of the gate and looked around for any familiar faces.

Faith tugged on Buffy's arm when she saw Kara waiting for them several yards away. She was standing alone by one of the windows, looking out, and deep in thought. "Hey," Kara said without turning her head as Faith and Buffy walked up to her. "How was your trip?"

"Good," Faith answered for the both of them. Kara looked over at them, her keen, clear eyes piercing them thoughtfully.

"Did you figure out what you needed to figure out?" She asked, her voice oddly even.

"Yeah," Faith said, instantly noticing that there was something wrong with her daughter. She was far too indifferent, far too detached. Her voice sounded as if it was a thousand miles away and her eyes seemed to look straight through them to some unknown point in the distance.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, noticing it too. Kara immediately snapped back into attention.

"Something happened while you were gone," she began. "We have to hurry back." Then, without another word, she turned and began walking out of the airport. Faith and Buffy quickly followed after her. She led them out to the parking lot, where Giles' car was waiting. After a short drive, they arrived in downtown Sunnydale. Instead of turning onto their street, she kept driving to nearly the outskirts of town. Then she parked alongside the northern wall of the cemetery that was built there.

"Why are we here?" Buffy asked as they got out of the car.

"Hell hounds attacked while you were in Boston. Those two events aren't related though, as far as we can tell. The town sustained a lot of damage. A lot of people died," Kara said as she walked forward purposefully, striding through the cemetery gate.

"Anyone we know?" Faith asked, though she already knew the answer to that question. The sun pierced her eyes as she walked through the gate behind Kara. Kara turned and looked back at her with a sad smile on her face.

"Cordelia," Kara replied. "Her body's over here. We decided just to bury her here, instead of moving her out of the cemetery. Giles made all of the arrangements this afternoon."

"Cordelia's dead?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Yes," Kara replied. "Come on," she said softly, taking Buffy by the hand and leading her on. Faith walked a little ways apart from them, digesting the news in her own way. "As tragic as Cordelia's death was, it's not the biggest of our problems," Kara said as they walked. Buffy could see her friends gathered around a coffin ahead of them.

"What's the biggest of our problems?" Faith asked, instantly falling into slayer mode.

"Lucifer is here. He's the one that sent the hellhounds. We think he's working with Cassius, or more correctly, Cassius is working with him. However, we haven't seen much of Cassius lately. I think something isn't right between the two of them. At any rate, we have a plan," Kara replied.

"What's the plan?" Buffy asked, shaking off the heavy weight that seemed to have fallen on her limbs.

"We're going to call Lucifer out tonight," Kara replied. She stopped for a moment, just a few yards away from the casket. "And we're gonna kick his ass."

"Or die trying," Kennedy said, walking away from the casket to join her girlfriend. "You in?" She asked, turning to Buff and Faith.

Both slayers grinned wryly before responding in a clear voice, "Hell yeah."


	33. Under the Full Moon

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"We're going to call Lucifer out tonight," Kara replied. She stopped for a moment, just a few yards away from the casket. "And we're gonna kick his ass."

"Or die trying," Kennedy said, walking away from the casket to join her girlfriend. "You in?" She asked, turning to Buff and Faith.

Both slayers grinned wryly before responding in a clear voice, "Hell yeah."

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Buffy stood in the middle of the cemetery as night fell on the gravestones. The trees were silent, no breeze rustling the leaves or birds chirping merrily in the branches. An utter stillness held the cemetery captive. Buffy stood several feet away from the others, a look of fierce determination gracing her features. The moon shone above her, round and full, lighting up the darkness. Finally, Buffy smiled slightly and folded her hands behind her back. Then, in a clear, ringing voice, she said, "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

……………………………………….

_One Hour Earlier:_

Buffy surveyed the living room of her mother's house. The entire group was assembled there, going over last minute preparations for the night's battle. Anya and Xander were making an inventory of weapons while Tara, Willow, and some Coven members prepared a spell that would send Lucifer back to Hell. The spell was designed to open a portal to Hell. Kara, Buffy, Faith, and Kennedy would then propel Lucifer through the portal. Willow would close it behind him. Though the portal wouldn't be permanent, it would take more power than one entity possessed to open from the inside.

Kara, Kennedy, and Faith were stretching, each mentally preparing for what they had to do. Meanwhile, Giles, Jack, and Joyce were hovering over everyone, obviously worrying about the outcome of the night's events. Giles hadn't been too optimistic about their likelihood of defeating one of the oldest evils in the world. However, no one was particularly listening to him. Callum and Lucian were the only ones not in the living room. Lucian, who was still grieving over the loss of Cordelia, was out on the front porch, getting some air. Callum had gone outside with him, presumably to help talk him through his grief. Buffy looked over at Dawn and Spike, who were sitting on the couch.

They were in charge of the half a dozen slayers the Council had managed to round up and deliver on such short notice. While Faith, Buffy, Kara, and Kennedy were fighting Lucifer, Dawn's team was going to be fending off any curious vampires or demons with a crossbow brigade. Buffy looked out of the window. The sun was quickly dropping in the sky, cool shadows stretching over the ground. Giles looked up and met her eyes, nodding swiftly before turning to the group.

"It's time to go," he said solemnly. The group jumped to their feet, each person grabbing the items allotted to them to carry to the cemetery. Faith walked over to Buffy and put her arm around her waist. She pulled Buffy close to her, resting her forehead against her partner's.

"Time to fight the big bad, huh?" Faith smirked. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Can't you take anything seriously?" Buffy admonished.

Faith smiled her patented crooked smile and shook her head. "Not really."

"You guys ready?" Kara asked, walking up to them.

"Never more ready in my life," Buffy responded.

"I don't see why," Anya said, as she and Xander walked passed them. "We're all going to die."

"Optimism, An," Xander said, shaking his head. "Let's give it a try."

"Well, this won't be the first time we've rushed headlong into deadly peril," Giles said, smiling softly at Buffy and Faith.

"And it won't be the last," Buffy whispered.

…………………………..

Buffy stood in the middle of the cemetery as night fell on the gravestones. The trees were silent, no breeze rustling the leaves or birds chirping merrily in the branches. An utter stillness held the cemetery captive. Buffy stood several feet away from the others, a look of fierce determination gracing her features. The moon shone above her, round and full, lighting up the darkness. Finally, Buffy smiled slightly and folded her hands behind her back. Then, in a clear, ringing voice, she said, "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

"_That _was the best she could do?" Kara whispered into Faith's ear.

"Hey, you don't know how difficult it is to come up with something witty at a moment's notice. There's a lot of pressure there," Faith countered as seriously as she could, before smiling to herself and looking down to keep from laughing.

"Like I said, she could have done better," Kara said triumphantly.

"Guys! Does it really matter?" Kennedy asked, glaring over at them. "We're about to fight The Evil One, Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, whatever you want to call him, and you're more worried about the quality of Buffy's punning. Get a life."

"Nice girl you've got there," Faith commented.

"Yeah, I was thinking I might trade her in," Kara said as she ducked out of the way of Kennedy's fist.

"Guys!" Buffy said, looking back at them. "We've got company. Wouldn't want him to think we're amateurs or anything." Faith, Kara, and Kennedy instantly straightened and looked ahead into the slight mist surrounding the cemetery. They could see a man approaching.

"That him?" Kennedy asked, moving closer to Kara.

"I think so," Kara said.

"He's kinda short," Faith commented, eliciting laughs from the two girls next to her.

"Not as short as Buffy though," Kara replied.

"I can still hear you," Buffy said, agitated.

"Were you looking for me?" Lucifer said, interrupting their conversation as he drew closer.

"More or less," Buffy said, shrugging noncommittally. "But now that you're here, we do have something we wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, what's that?" Lucifer asked, stopping and folding his hands behind his back, mimicking Buffy's pose.

Buffy smiled and said, "We just wanted to know how exactly you'd like your ass kicked out of Sunnydale."


	34. The Battle

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: This is the second to last chapter. Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.

Previously:

"More or less," Buffy said, shrugging noncommittally. "But now that you're here, we do have something we wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, what's that?" Lucifer asked, stopping and folding his hands behind his back, mimicking Buffy's pose.

Buffy smiled and said, "We just wanted to know how exactly you'd like your ass kicked out of Sunnydale."

Chapter Thirty-Three:

Buffy sighed and slowly lowered herself onto the ground. "I need a vacation," she muttered to herself. "Ow." Buffy closed her eyes and gently rubbed her temples, trying to will away the headache that had invaded her mind.

"You okay?" Faith asked, limping over to her and sitting down next to her.

"I am, but I think my arm has seen better days," Buffy replied, looking down at her blood soaked arm. "I think it's broken…in several places."

"Yeah, I feel ya," Faith said, motioning to her leg. "I'm not entirely sure it's even connected to my body anymore."

"How are the others?" Buffy asked, wiping some blood away from her eyes.

"Kennedy's still out like a light. Kara's patching up the wound on Xander's side," Faith replied.

"How's her neck?" Buffy asked, looking over at Kara and Xander.

"Stopped bleeding a couple of minutes ago. Giles and Joyce are fine, just a little bruised. Red and Tara have been better, but they're alive. Lucian has a big gash on his forehead and Callum's foot is broken. Spike looks like a truck ran him over and Dawn's hand is messed up," Faith responded.

"What about Jack?" Buffy asked.

Faith looked over at her and sighed. "Jack didn't make it," she replied.

"Kennedy's gonna take that badly. She really liked him," Buffy said, looking down at her feet.

"Yeah, I know," Faith answered.

"How about Anya? She okay?" Buffy asked.

Faith smiled and laughed a little. "Anya's made out of steel. She ain't got a scratch on her." Buffy laughed and nodded.

"All in all," she said, surveying the cemetery, "I think that went well."

"Yeah," Faith replied. "So, vacation, huh?"

Buffy smiled widely. "I say we hit the beach."

……………………….

_Several Hours Earlier:_

Buffy smiled and said, "We just wanted to know how exactly you'd like your ass kicked out of Sunnydale."

"I could ask you the same. But why waste the time? Let's just get this over with," Lucifer said. Instantly, behind him appeared more than a dozen hellhounds.

"Does she usually find that pissing off the enemy works?" Kennedy asked as she, Kara, and Faith charged.

"I guess we'll find out," Kara replied. The hounds charged. One leapt through the air and tackled Kara, knocking her to the ground. Kara slammed her head on a tombstone, momentarily stunned as the hound reared its paw back. Its claws pierced through Kara's neck and the pain cleared her mind. Pushing the hound off, Kara gasped for breath and held the wound with one hand while slipping a knife out of her waistband with the other.

She could hear Willow and Tara begin chanting the spell that would open the portal to Hell. The hound growled and charged at Kara again. Raising the knife, Kara ducked as it tried to tackle her, and shoved the knife deep into the hound's belly. It shrieked and fell to the ground, dead. Kara's knees buckled and she landed hard on the ground, the world fading around her.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith were taking on Lucifer. Though they had the advantage in numbers, he was keeping them moving. A hound had sidetracked Kennedy. The last time Faith saw her, she was slumped over by a tombstone, unconscious. Dawn had swiftly dispatched the hound. However, it had mauled her hand and slashed Xander's side.

"Guys!" Willow shouted. "It's time." The portal suddenly opened behind Lucifer. Faith and Buffy looked at each other before letting loose with a volley of punches. Lucifer stumbled backwards, but it wasn't enough.

"Need some help?" A voice said from behind Lucifer. Lucifer turned to see Cassius standing behind him.

"It's about time you got here. Kill them," Lucifer ground out. Cassius smiled before shaking his head.

"I wasn't talking to you," he said. Then he grabbed Lucifer around the waist, pulling him back into the portal. The energy swirled around them, pulling into Hell. The portal slammed shut amid two distinct screams of pain.

"That went well," Faith muttered, clearly surprised.

"Don't celebrate yet," Buffy said, turning around and surveying the cemetery. "There's still a lot of hellhounds left."

The fight raged on until the hellhounds had all been killed. When it was over, several demon bodies and one human body littered the ground. The Scoobies picked themselves up and dusted themselves off to head to the hospital, having achieved another victory. Kara sighed and looked around the empty cemetery, the light of the rising sun resting on her face.


	35. The End

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Once again, thanks for sticking through the story with me. It was a pleasure to write and I hope it was a pleasure to read. I'm working on another story that will be called The Quickening. It will be set in Season 3, will focus primarily on the Faith/Xander dynamic, and will be my version of what should have happened. That should be up sometime next week. So I hope you all read that as well.

Previously:

The fight raged on until the hellhounds had all been killed. When it was over, several demon bodies and one human body littered the ground. The Scoobies picked themselves up and dusted themselves off to head to the hospital, having achieved another victory. Kara sighed and looked around the empty cemetery, the light of the rising sun resting on her face.

Epilogue:

It had been nearly three weeks since the battle against Lucifer. Wounds had been mended, the fallen mourned, and the time had come for the remaining Powers to return to the realm where they belonged. The Scooby Gang and several members of both the Coven and the Council accompanied Callum and Lucian out to the caves where they could access the portal that led back to the Powers' realm.

"I'm gonna miss them," Xander sulked as he walked next to Anya and Buffy. "I mean hell, it's not like I had a whole bunch of male friends to begin with."

"And now you're left with Giles and Spike," Buffy said, smiling as Xander involuntarily cringed.

"I really need to find some new friends," he muttered. The group slowed to a halt as they reached the caves just outside of Sunnydale.

"As far as we know, there's only the two of you. Cassius' fall through the portal should have killed him," Giles said, addressing Callum and Lucian. "However, I imagine a third Power will be joining you shortly. And remember, if you ever need anything, you know where we live."

"Thanks," Lucian said, smiling, though his smile was tinged with sadness. "I mean it. Thanks for everything. I won't forget all the help you've given me."

"It was our pleasure," Giles said, shaking both Lucian and Callum's hands.

"Yeah," Faith said, stepping forward and punching each of them on their shoulders. "Feel free to visit us anytime."

"We most certainly will," Callum replied. Giles and Faith moved away and Kara stepped forward. Callum flashed her a lazy, lopsided grin and pulled her into a warm hug. "I'll always love you, you know," he said.

Kara smiled into his shoulder and nodded her head. "Me too," she replied, then pulled away and quickly hugged Lucian as well. "Take care of him," she whispered to Lucian. Lucian nodded.

The rest of the gang said their goodbyes. Once they had finished, Callum and Lucian glanced over at each other and nodded, knowing it was time. Then they turned and walked into the caves. The group watched until they had disappeared from sight. "Well, I guess it's time to go home," Buffy said. Taking one last collective look into the cave, the group began to trudge back to their cars and another day on top of the Hellmouth.

Callum and Lucian walked far into the cave. Torches lit up the walls beside them, casting shadows on the ground in front of them. Lucian looked back over his shoulder, but he could no longer see the entrance to the cave, or his friends. "So our realm," Callum said, snapping Lucian back into reality. "Is it nice?"

"I don't really remember," Lucian replied. "But I imagine so."

"That's good," Callum replied. "I've always wanted to live in the lap of luxury."

"Well," Lucian said laughing, "you might just be in luck."

They reached the back of the cave, where a small altar was set up. A bowl of water sat on the altar and a ceremonial knife lay next to it. "What do we do?" Callum whispered over to Lucian. Lucian closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Wash your hands," he said. Callum dipped his hands into the water and then shook them dry. Lucian did the same. Then Lucian picked up the knife and pricked his finger. A droplet of blood fell into the bowl of water and disappeared. Callum did the same. Suddenly, before them, a shimmering doorway seemed to appear.

"Is that where we go?" Callum asked.

"I believe it is," Lucian said. Taking Callum's hand in his own, he smiled. "Come on, brother," he said. "Let's go home." Together, they walked through the doorway. A bright light flashed around them and suddenly, they weren't in the cave any longer. Instead, they were standing in the middle of an ornately decorated sitting room. Paintings hung on the walls and Callum could feel the warmth of a fire blazing behind him.

"So this is home then," Callum asked, looking around, obviously impressed. "I like it."

"Yeah, it's not bad," Lucian said, shrugging noncommittally. Callum rolled his eyes.

"I suppose we could have done worse," he replied.

"Damn straight you could have done worse," a familiar female voice said from behind them. "I've been sitting here waiting for you all day. It's about time you two showed up. I'm not getting any younger,you know." Spinning around, they saw a woman sitting on a sofa at the far end of the room. She was dressed entirely in white, from a silky, white tank top to white sandals. But her hair was as black as the night itself.

"Cordelia," Callum said, recognizing her right away. Lucian stood next to him, speechless. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Cordelia asked, rolling her eyes as she stood and walked over to them. "You never were the brightest crayon in the box, were you? I'm the third Power."

"_You're _the third Power?" Lucian asked, finally finding his voice.

"Don't act so surprised," Cordelia said. "After all, I am a hero and what not. And I always thought I would do well in a position of power."

"One of the many positions you do well in I'm sure," Callum joked, though his laughter was cut short by glares from both Cordelia and Lucian.

"I missed you," Lucian said, stepping forward and wrapping Cordelia in a comfortable embrace. Cordelia sighed happily.

"I missed you too," she replied. "But hey, just think. You guys are stuck with me for the next thousand or so years. It should be fun."

"Oh, how ever are we going to pass the time?" Callum asked.

"We've got work to do," Cordelia replied. "And I know just the person who can help us," she said, smiling devilishly.

…………………………..

Kara was walking down the street with Buffy and Faith. The sun was shining brightly overhead. They were heading to the Magic Box to help Anya fix the place up from when it had been ransacked by hellhounds. "Are you okay?" Buffy asked, looking over at Kara. "You look a little pale."

"I don't know," Kara replied. "I feel kinda weird. My head just started hurting and…" Her sentence was cut short by a scream of pain that tore through her throat. Dropping to the ground, she clutched her head as a series of images begin rushing through her mind. Then, it seemed, that as soon as it had begun, it was over.

"Kara?" Faith said, kneeling down next to her. "What was that?"

Kara shook away the cobwebs that had settled on her mind and looked up at her mothers. "I think I just had a vision," she replied. "And just when I thought things were starting to settle down around here."

THE END

Note: I want to work on some other ideas first, but I might come back to this series for a third part. However, I would like some input. Would anyone like to see a third part to this series? If so, let me know.


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